Mortal Kombat: Redemption
by Snafu the Great
Summary: Joined the military at 17. Dishonorably discharged following her 19th birthday. 'Freelance contractor' at 20. Masterminded the Black Dragon's fall two years later. She is considered to be one of the best mercenaries in the world. But even Cassandra Cage can only run from her past for so long before it catches up to her. S-F wants her back. An AU detailing how Cassie joined S-F.
1. Chapter 1

**Mortal Kombat: Redemption**  
A Mortal Kombat Three-Part Fanfiction  
By Snafu the Great

 **DISCLAIMER:** Mortal Kombat belongs to Netherrealm Studios. This story was inspired by the Love Hina fanfic **Love Hina: A Different Path Taken** by **Zombie Boy** , in which Keitaro becomes a mercenary and inherits the Hinata Inn. So I decided to give it a shot with my own twist.

 **CANON DIVERGEANCE!** Aside from Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage, Kitana, Jax and Nightwolf survive Sindel's rampage in Mortal Kombat 9, as it had been a dying Kurtis Stryker who had slain Sindel with his remaining grenades, blowing both her and himself up in the process. It is because of this small change, that Jax is now in command of the Special Forces, and Johnny and Sonya's marriage is more stable...for the most part. But it did go through a rough patch in regards to their daughter, Cassandra. This story details an alternative retelling as to how Cassandra joined S-F.

 **Part One**

Note: The Customs Scene here was inspired by Crying Freeman. You can probably guess where I got Cassie's alias from. I also tossed in references from MK: Legacy and Star Trek.

San Francisco International Airport – San Francisco, California

The name of the passport read Catherine Montilyet. French in origin. The customs officer looked at the picture, then at the woman standing before him. She looked to be in her early twenties, with shoulder-length red hair and green eyes. Eyes that were concealed by an expensive pair of oversized sunglasses. Her manner of dress was a simple woman's business suit; the jacket and pants black while the shirt was red (think Vice's new KOF uniform). A pair of heels completed the outfit.

She had came with two items; her travel bag and a suitcase, of which the latter was now open. The customs officer removed the cotton cloth that covered its contents. What greeted him was the sight of clay.

"What is this?" the custom officer asked.

"It is clay," the woman replied, her English laced with her French accent.

The officer cocked an eyebrow. "You're bringing clay into the country?"

The woman nodded as she regarded her cargo. " _Oui_. I am a potter. And good pots are from made of good clay. Like most potters, I make my own. The trick is to find the right mud, dry it, and lump it into small pieces. When that is done, you then sift it." She removed her glasses, allowing the officer to look into her green eyes. "The objective is to increase the claytal quality, so that the end result is good plasticity and a high refraction."

She looked at the clay and trailed her hand along the material. "I've heard that some people store their clay for up to twenty years, if not more." She looked back up at the officer and gave him a dazzling smile as she moved in for the kill. "Tell me, Monseiur...would I be breaking that record at this counter?"

"Is there a problem here?" the second officer asked, an older man, having finished searching her travel bag.

The first officer shook his head as he placed the cloth back over the clay and snapped the case shut. "No problem," he said as he handed the woman back her passport. "Enjoy your visit, Miss Montilyet."

The woman placed her sunglasses back on her face and retrieved her luggage. " _Merci beaucoup. Bonne journée,_ " the woman said.

Unknown to her, the second customs officer picked up a phone and dialed a number. Minutes later, there was an answer. "General Briggs."

"General. It's Lewis," the false customs officer said. "She's here."

"Good. I'll notify Colonel Blade. That will be all."

* * *

Meanwhile...

Catherine Montilyet walked at a brisk pace through baggage claim. As she headed to one of the baggage carousels, a woman fell into step beside her, shorter than she was, with spiky short dark hair and brown eyes. "Welcome to San Francisco, Miss Montilyet," the woman greeted.

"Clay," Catherine growled, the French accent now gone. "You sent me to England for a suitcase of potter's clay, Lynn? Seriously?"

"Oh, suck it up, Cage," Lynn replied. "I'm paying you for the job. And it was easy, right?"

Cassandra Montilyet – or rather, Cassandra Cage – snorted. "Nothing is every easy, Lynn. Things are too hot right now. S-F is still trying to track me down, and then there's the Shirai Ryu. I'm surprised the Lin Kuei hasn't come for me."

Her handler grinned. "And whose fault is that, Specialist Cage? Need I remind you that you brought that upon yourself when you ghosted Kano and his buddies."

"Not like I had a choice. Had they found out that Catherine Montilyet and Cassandra Cage were the same person, then my family would be in even more danger."

"Didn't know you still cared," Lynn replied.

"Dad and Jacqui? Definitely," Cassie said. "Uncle Jax? Maybe. Sonya...?" Her expression darkened as she retrieved her small suitcase.

"You still blame your mother for what happened?"

"She sold me out, Lynn. Sold me out for a goddamned promotion. I was kicked out of the Army because of that. And then she turns around and tells the world that she's sorry and she wants to make up? I call bullshit."

"At least now your discharge is changed from dishonorable to general under honorable conditions," Lynn pointed out. "It also gives you a chance to return to the Army."

"If it meant dealing with her, no thanks," Cassie said.

"But being a mercenary isn't too healthy for you either, Cass," Lynn said. "Sooner or later, you're gonna have to deal with your past."

"'Private contractor,' I told you. So what, you're my conscience now?"

"Nope. Just your handler, whom you pay handsomely for my services in keeping you amused and fed. And the coin you pay me is not too shabby either. And you know I do a good job, unlike my predecessor."

Cassie nodded. Had you asked the daughter of Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade what she would be doing in three years, 'mercenary' wasn't what Cassie had in mind. Although she preferred the term, 'private contractor.' The cover of her going on a worldwide tour was a cover for her to move around more effectively without drawing any attention to herself.

But Cassandra wasn't always a mercenary. She had been a soldier, having decided to follow in her mother's footsteps and to pursue a military career. She had enlisted at seventeen, and was rapidly working her way through the ranks, without help from her mother. There was talk of her attending O.C.S.

Then, when she was nineteen, she had been dishonorably discharged for assaulting a superior officer. When she was court-martialed, her mother had promised to be by her side. But when Cassie saw Sonya with the rank of Brigadier General on the day of the verdict, she knew almost instantly that her mother had sold her out. The last time she had saw Sonya, her mother had to be taken to the hospital following Cassie breaking her jaw.

Her previous handler was Barton Torrance, who once worked alongside Cassie with the PMC when she first started as a mercenary. They had come to odds over her taking not only riskier assignments, but assassination gigs as well. That was where Cassie drew the line. No wet-work, despite how high they paid. Fortunately, Torrance did not know her true identity as Cassie Cage.

So Torrance decided to sell her out to S-F in exchange for a big payday. Led by General Jackson Briggs and Colonel Sonya Blade, two teams of S-F stormed the hotel where Cassie had been staying, hoping to capture the infamous mercenary. Cassie had been at the hotel's indoor swimming pool when she was caught off guard by two Spec Ops soldiers kicking her door in, pointing guns at her when she was wearing nothing but a towel.

Sonya and Jax had been alerted to Cassie's presence (unknown to the both of them that both Cassie and Catherine Montilyet were one in the same) by the soldiers she had beaten down. After all, only two people knew the Shadow Kick, Sonya's husband being the other one. The entire hotel was locked down, but the bionic-armed general and the blonde colonel had underestimated Cassie's resolve. Cassie had dragged the unconscious man inside her room, and stripped him of his uniform, donned it and made her escape, down the stairs and out of a service entrance.

By the time Jax and Sonya had found the bound and stripped man inside her hotel room, Cassie was in the wind. Fortunately, she always was packed, as she was always on the move.

Cassie was in her own words, 'a glorified drifter with a huge bank account and a set of skills.'

If there was one thing that pissed Cassie off to no end, betrayal was number two on that list. The Blood Code was number one. Torrance was surprised to find out that not only Cassie had escaped the snatch teams, but she was also at his doorstep.

Torrance tried to explain his actions, but Cassie wasn't hearing none of it. She proceeded to beat him within an inch of his life.

The last she heard of Torrance, he was still eating his food through a straw.

That's when she ran into Lynn Carter, a former Army comrade now living in San Francisco, working as a potter. She still had ties to the military, and Cassie offered her the job of being her handler. So far, Lynn had done an excellent job.

But deep down, Cassie knew that her days were numbered. Sooner or later, someone will find out that Catherine Montilyet and Cassandra Cage were one in the same. And if it was one of the more unsavory elements, then they would threaten her parents' lives in exchange for her cooperation.

"I knew you would be pissed, seeing as how you wanted to start your little vacation," Lynn said as she produced an envelope, thick with cash, "which is why I added a little bonus for your services."

Cassie accepted the envelope, while she handed Lynn the suitcase of clay. "I'll be in South Lake Tahoe if you need me," Cassie said.

"A pleasure as always, Specialist Cage," Lynn said, nodding as she and Cassie parted ways.

'I'm not a Specialist,' Cassie thought darkly as she exited the airport and walked towards the parking garage, where her car was parked. 'Not anymore.'

Following her dishonorable discharge, she had been staying with her Aunt Rebecca, her father's sister. However, as Cassie knew, having a dishonorable discharge was tantamount to a felony. Her father's influence could only take her so far.

So after three days of fighting in L.A.'s underground fight clubs, one morning, as Rebecca and her family slept, she left her cellphone on the table, a letter addressed to her father, walked out of the house, and disappeared.

Her travels took her first to the Lakota shaman and Raiden's right-hand man. Her father had always spoken highly of Nightwolf, and he was instrumental in purging the effects of the Blood Code from herself, Jacqui and Raiden. He was the first teacher who helped her purge the darkness from within her soul, but was unable to help her with the warrior bloodline she had inherited from Johnny.

So after six months of training, Nightwolf had sent her to Outworld, where she receive instruction under the Royal Consort of Outworld's Empress, the former Champion of Mortal Kombat himself, Liu Kang. Kitana had led the attack on Shang Tsung's Island, backed by Jax, her father, and Sonya. Apparently, Kitana Kahn had taken offense to Reiko's attempts in becoming a Blood God, which meant that Outworld would be at risk.

At the time, both Cassie and Jacqui were under the Blood Code's influence. Mileena, Kitana and their parents had been captured and were being drained of their blood in order for Reiko to consume and become the Blood God. But the ceremony was brought to a halt by Liu Kang's arrival, along with backup of his own. In the end, Cassie and Jacqui were freed of the Blood Code, and Kitana made peace with Mileena, offering her sister/clone a place in her court. Mileena accepted the offer.

Liu had seen the anger and rage in Cassie. The same that he himself had towards Raiden that had led him to Outworld. So he became her second teacher. The former Shaolin Monk taught her how to control her anger, to focus it. Cassie was a quick study. While Liu taught her how to control her emotions, Kitana had taught Cassie the art of stealth, of which the former princess and assassin had plenty of experience of. She also gave Cassie advice in regards to Sonya, should they meet again under more neutral circumstances.

But the nightmares of Cassie and the Blood Code intensified. So Liu and Kitana had taken her to Shang Tsung's Island, which led to Kitana rendering Cassie unconscious with a spell, forcing her to fight her past self in order to face her demons and put her nightmares to rest. That proved to be a successful trip.

After six more months of training, Cassie's final leg of her journey was to the Realm of Order, Seido. Her father had spoke of his own past experiences in the Realm of Order, training under the Seidan Guard Commander, Hotaru. Cassie sought him out for her own training in regards to the warrior bloodline she had inherited from her father. Not only did she would spend her 20th birthday in Seido, but she learned more about not only her inborn powers, but of the origins of the warrior cult behind them.

Suffice to say, the Seidan training Hotaru had put Cassie through made basic training look like a square dance. When she returned to Nightwolf's home following her year-and-a-half long journey, she was in bed for a week. While she recovered, Nightwolf told her of what has happened in her absence. As it turned out, the officer she had assaulted which led to her court-martial was the son of a powerful Senator, Damien Perry, who sat on the Armed Forces Committee.

The blanks were starting to fill in for Cassie when Sonya held a press conference explaining her actions and incriminating Senator Perry as the catalyst behind her daughter's court-martial and dishonorable discharge. She accepted the deal under the condition that Cassie was to be given a general discharge. Perry broke that deal when he used his influence to have Cassie dishonorably discharged, and bought Sonya's silence with the increase in rank.

That opened the floodgates for Perry to be charged for a number of federal crimes, as he was already being investigated, including covering up several sexual assaults done by his son, who was now spending the rest of his life at the Naval Consolidated Brig, while his father was spending his life at a federal prison.

Cassie wasn't convinced. Both times, her mother had chosen her career in an act of self-preservation. But still, it has been three years since she has spoken with her parents. Or her dad, at least. But now, she could at least rest and recover for the next couple of weeks before the next job.

It wasn't Special Forces, but working as a freelance mercenary had its perks. She had worked with a PMC, but they wouldn't give her the time of day, always subjecting her to menial tasks. Then she kills Kano and his lieutenants and now job offers were coming out of the woodwork from both sides of the law. She was credited with killing Kano and Kira, but it had been the Red Dragon who had destroyed the infidel organization.

Unknown to both parties, it had been Cassie who had manipulated the Dragons in trying to kill each other. She had framed the Red Dragon for the deaths of Tasia and Jarek (when in truth they died by her hand), knowing Kano would retaliate. She was also responsible for killing Tremor, but like the other two, the Red Dragon took the blame.

Cassie approached her ride – a black Dodge Charger Police Pursuit Car. She had bought it at a police auction and had it customized for her tastes. Reinforced suspension, bulletproof chassis, and safety glass. She even kept the police cruiser's safety bumper, as she thought it looked cool.

Once her suitcases were squared away, she was behind the wheel. She took a moment to remove her wig, revealing her short blonde hair (think Anya Strond's hairstyle), and tossed that in the bag. The contacts were next, the green eyes revealing to be brown, just like her father's. The contacts were placed in a case and Cassie stored them away inside her bag.

The car turned over, the engine roaring to life, and was soon on her way for several weeks of rest and relaxation.

Cassie did not notice the woman on her phone as she drove past. She saw her board the flight from London, but thought nothing else of it.

"Yes...notify the Grandmaster. She's here. She's on her way to South Lake Tahoe."

* * *

At the same time, at the Special Forces Training And Research Base El Toro - Orange County, California.

There wasn't much that could shock General Jackson Briggs. He was one of Raiden's chosen warriors, and the superior officer to Colonel Sonya Blade, who was married to Johnny Cage, the Hollywood action star, and Raiden's chosen champion.

But as he looked at the photos that had been given to him by Sonya and Johnny, shocked was an understatement. The aforementioned colonel and her action star husband sat in chairs on the other end of his desk, Sonya's expression was, while Johnny had his poker face. It had to be serious, as Johnny wasn't wearing his glasses.

The photos had been delivered to them three days earlier by the Lin Kuei grandmaster himself, Subzero, and his chief lieutenant, Frost. Johnny had his suspicions over the identity of the mercenary, which was why he had called in a favor to Subzero. Instead of trying to capture Montilyet, they were to monitor and track her. It had been following a three-way brawl between Takeda Takahashi, Frost and Cassie herself was her identity confirmed.

Johnny and Sonya knew of the bitter rivalry between their daughter and the female cryomancer, going back to shortly before the Blood Code event.

Jax had been away when Subzero visited the couple. Since then, the pieces fell into place for Sonya. They were not looking for Catherine Montilyet. They were looking for Cassandra Cage.

[Flashback]

 _Three days earlier, at the Griffith Observatory..._

 _Johnny knew that Sonya would be pissed at him, but he had to be sure. If his inquiry into Catherine Montilyet turned out to be nothing but smoke and mirrors, then nothing would come of it._

 _But when Johnny heard the name, his interest grew. After all, Montilyet was not a French name. Johnny knew this, as he used the name for his main character in 'Ninja Mime.' So he had a meeting arranged with Subzero and called in the debt the Lin Kuei grandmaster owed to him for warning him about the Lin Kuei's intentions during the Outworld Tournament._

 _Subzero's task? Monitor and positively identity Catherine Montilyet. Which led to this meeting tonight._

 _Kuai Liang was surprised to see that Sonya had accompanied the film star. He could almost see the fallout from this meeting, as Johnny kept this secret from his wife. But he can understand why he had done this. After all, he was also privy of the events leading to Cassie Cage's discharge, and Sonya's near-fall from grace._

 _Johnny let out a low whistle as he looked Subzero over. The master cryomancer was clad in a dark business suit, a closed manilla envelope in his hands. "Looking good, Kuai," he greeted._

 _Subzero inclined his head. "Johnny." He looked at Sonya. "You brought her along?"_

 _"She's gonna find out sooner or later," Johnny replied, shrugging his shoulders. "So what do you got for me?"_

 _"It appears that your concerns about Miss Montilyet were correct," Subzero said._

 _"Knew it," Johnny said, but kept his composure._

 _"Montilyet? Catherine Montilyet?" Sonya turned to her husband. "Johnny? Why are you interest in her?"_

 _"It's a mutual interest, babe," Johnny replied. "She's our daughter."_

 _"What did I tell you about calling me...wait, what?" Sonya's mind went back to what Johnny had said, the ever-familiar reprimand forgotten. "Go back. What did you just say?"_

 _"Montilyet is not a French name, let alone a word," Johnny explained. "Catherine Montilyet is Cassandra Cage."_

 _Sonya's eyes widened in shock. Then it turned to anger. "You knew?!"_

 _"I suspected," Johnny replied calmly, shrugging his shoulders. "Montilyet was the name of my character from 'Ninja Mime.' I had to know for sure."_

 _"You had the Lin Kuei tail our daughter?!" Sonya screeched in fury. "You knew and you didn't tell me?!"_

 _Sonya's anger immediately evaporated with Johnny's response. "Remind me again as to why S-F has the Shirai Ryu on speed-dial, let alone why did you have them try and snatch our daughter on two separate occasions?"_

 _With Sonya effectively silenced, Johnny turned back to a slightly amused Subzero. "My apprentice, Frost, had confirmed her identity. Kenshi's son led the snatch team from the Shirai Ryu. I'm certain that Hanzou knows that Montilyet is your daughter. Cassandra had confirmed her identity to Frost. Then they fought in a three-way battle. I have to say, your daughter is vicious in kombat."_

 _"We taught her well. Do you have her whereabouts now?"_

 _"She's in London," the cryomancer replied. "She should be back in the States within the next couple of days." He then handed over the folder to Johnny. "This is what we were able to find on your daughter. She's been very busy these past couple of years."_

 _Johnny noticed that the folder had some weight to it. Almost like one of his scripts._

 _"You are aware of the demise of Kano and several of his lieutenants?" Subzero asked. When they nodded, he continued. "I had a spy within the organization. It was Cassie herself who killed them."_

 _Now Johnny was surprised. "Cassie did that?"_

 _Subzero motioned to the folder in Johnny's hands. "Everything you need to know is inside. Your daughter has been quite busy these past couple of years."_

 _"When she comes back, let me know, okay?"_

 _Subzero nodded. "I will. Once your daughter is back, then the debt will be paid."_

 _Johnny nodded. "Thanks again."_

[End Flashback]

Johnny and Sonya didn't get no sleep that night, as they sat at the table going through the notes, documents and photographs, as they made a profile on their daughter and her exploits in the past couple of years. They knew that Cassie was still alive, as she updated her social media page with pictures of her travels.

It had been Johnny who had suggested that Cassie's world tour was a cover for her job as a mercenary. When he began to put the pieces together, matching various photos with the dates of Cassie's contracts, Sonya was impressed. Even after 20 years of marriage, her husband can still surprise her when the occasion called for it.

It also coincided what Nightwolf and Liu had told him, not to mention Commander Hotaru when he visited Seido.

Suffice to say, Johnny and Sonya were shocked as to what Cassie had been up to for the past three years. Their only daughter, a mercenary, one of the best. She was like a chameleon, disguising her voice with various accents and changing her appearance with minor prosthetics, wigs and contact lenses so that her clients would keep guessing. Some reports say that she was French, others say that she was Italian, Czech, British, Spanish, even Russian.

But what shocked the action star and his military wife was that Cassandra Carlton Cage was the perpetrator of the Black Dragon's fall. But the reports that Subzero had given them had all but verified it. Cassie had done what Sonya and Jax had failed to do in over twenty years. She killed Kano, and brought down the Black Dragon. She was the silent partner, and her role was only known to the Lin Kuei and the Shirai Ryu grandmaster, Hanzo Hasashi.

Despite getting her hands dirty with killing Kano and his lieutenants, not to mention the fifty Black Dragon mooks inside the Black Dragon's hideout, Cassie did no assassination jobs, much to Sonya's relief.

Her expertise was mostly protection and undercover work and the occasional retrieval. Her work ethic was professional, and the clients got their money's worth.

Right now, Jax was looking at the photos. He did not get to the reports just yet.

Johnny's phone vibrated in his pocket. He quickly retrieved it and opened the screen. A text message from a private number.

 **Cassandra Cage is in San Francisco. On her way to South Lake Tahoe.**

Johnny nudged Sonya and showed her the message. She nodded and turned back to Jax.

Jax had hated the Black Dragon as much as Sonya and Johnny. But even he was appalled by the extreme violence that had befallen Kano's lieutenants.

The first picture was that of the charred remains of a woman, still holding a ninjato in her hand, her body smashed into the chassis of a car. A smaller, second picture confirmed her identity to be Tasia, the resident swordswoman and kunoichi of the Black Dragon. If the gas explosion didn't kill her, then the fall onto the car from the fifth floor certainly did. The reports stated that Tasia had been led into a trap involving a ruptured gas line from a stove and a lit candle. Crude, but effective.

The second photo was that of a man. From the stains of blood on his kneecaps, they had been shot out. The coup de grace was the bullet to the head. Reports read that there was bubble gum stuck inside the head wound, a final indignity. The man was Jarek, Kano's protegee and right-hand man. Jarek had been wanted for over 20 murders. He would not be missed.

Cassie had framed the Red Dragon by placing a tattered piece of cloth containing the Red Dragon insignia next to Jarek's body, along with a message written in Chinese. As Jarek was Kano's No.2 guy and potential successor, Kano would not take his and Tasia's deaths lying down.

That reignited the war between the two rival organizations. And Cassie sat back and watched as the carnage unfolded. She watched as the Black Dragon's numbers were thinned down, while the Red Dragon also suffered severe losses.

Jax and Sonya had heard reports from Kenshi that the Red Dragon and the Black Dragon were now in a full-fledged war. Fortunately, the war was far out of population centers, mostly aimed at their respective strongholds out in such places as Afghanistan, Iran and western China.

The third photo was that of a muscular hooded man wearing a mask. Tremor, the Black Dragon's muscle who can rival Jax when it came to strength. His head had been obliterated from a grenade. This was taken in Buenos Aires. The reports read that Tremor was ambuhsed by a Red Dragon assault squad. Tremor had killed them all, but was unaware that Cassie had been in hiding with a bazooka. Never let it be known that Cassie Cage didn't play fair.

Cassie had missed, the grenade detonating behind Tremor as it had impacted an overturned car. But it was a blessing in disguise. The force of the explosion had destroyed an arm and a leg. Cassie finished him off by jamming a live grenade down his throat, which blew his head into bloody chunks.

The fourth photo was that of a buxom redhead. Kira, the Black Dragon's weapons merchant. She had been worked over pretty good, Jax realized. The report said that her cervix and vulva had been violently ruptured from being punched down below. The picture showed that Kira's skull had been fractured, the bloody holes where her eyes once were showed that they had been blown out. Overkill, but like Jarek, Kira wouldn't be missed.

But it was the final photo that had shocked Jax most of all. A bound man, with a mangled face-plate, looking in remarkable shape for a guy pushing sixty, hanged from his wrists from a length of chain over an overhead beam, the glowing red eye having been shorted out, a gaping, bloodied hole in the back of his head.

Kano, the leader of the Black Dragon.

According to the mole within the Black Dragon, they had been successful in capturing Catherine Montilyet following Jarek and Tasia's deaths, but she had escaped. The deaths of Kira and Tremor followed shortly thereafter. According to the report, Kano himself was led into a trap, and had taken several bullets in the spine, robbing him the use of his legs. The scalpel sticking out of his artificial eye had shorted out his faceplate.

Then he had been strung up by his hands, paralyzed from the waist down.

Kano did not die easily. As Johnny and Sonya found out, Cassie had tortured him over the course of two hours. Like her parents, she had no love for the Black Dragon, as they kidnapped her and Jacqui years earlier. Kano was known to torture his victims for information. But this, Jax realized, was personal. First, she had used his torso as a punching bag, breaking the bones in his ribcage and rupturing his internal organs. But it wasn't the broken ribs or the internal bleeding that had killed him.

The second photo showed how Kano had died. His ribcage was open from the back, and his lungs had been pulled out. Kano was given a 'blood eagle,' meaning that she had used his knives to sever his ribs near the spine and opened them, allowing her to pull out Kano's lungs. Even with his cybernetics, it took Kano fifteen minutes to die. By that time, death would have been a blessing.

The shotgun blast which had obliterated the back of his head was considered overkill.

Jax looked up from the photos. "How did you get these?" he asked.

"The Grandmaster himself delivered them to us," Johnny replied, now serious. "I had my own suspicions, so I called the Lin Kuei for assistance."

The bionic-armed general looked at the action star. He still disliked Johnny for knocking Sonya up over twenty years earlier, but he did right by marrying her. Over the years, his attitude towards Johnny had cooled. "What's your stake in this, Cage?" Jax asked. "Catherine Montilyet has nothing to do with you. Why are you so interested in her?"

"Cassandra Montilyet is our daughter," Sonya deadpanned.

Now Jax was surprised. He looked at the photos. Then he looked at the couple. "Cassie did this?" he asked, flabbergasted.

Johnny nodded. "It seems that our warrior princess has picked up some nasty habits in the past couple of years since The Incident," he said, while Sonya closed her eyes in shame.

Sonya had been on the fast track for Brigadier General when Cassie was court-martialed. But Secretary Perry had forced her hand when he had summoned her to his office with an ultimatum: choose your daughter and not only will she spend 20 years in military prison, but her military career, along with Jax and Jacqui's would be ruined along with Johnny's acting career, or do nothing and accept Cassie's discharge. To add insult to injury, Perry had fast-tracked Sonya's promotion to Brigadier General, as a reminder that he owned her. For Sonya, that single golden star was her badge of shame.

For Cassie, to be betrayed by her mother was the final straw. Sonya ended up with a broken jaw. Johnny had been away filming on location when The Incident went down. But Sonya had been trying to make amends, to seek redemption in her missing daughter's eyes.

When Perry's son was arrested for raping a federal agent, Sonya and Johnny took action. They held a press conference calling out Secretary Perry and Sonya had revealed the circumstances surrounding Cassie's discharge. That led to Perry being investigated. Cassie's case was reopened, and she was exonerated, the dishonorable discharged changed into a general discharge under honorable conditions. In the end, Perry was in jail and Cassie's name had been cleared, and Sonya had taken a voluntary demotion back to Colonel.

"The Lin Kuei's mole within the Black Dragon has all but confirmed that Cassie was the one responsible for...that," confirmed Sonya. She looked at the photo of Kano's corpse, still in disbelief. "She killed Kano."

"She also was the architect behind the war between the Black and Red Dragons," Sonya explained. "She knew that she couldn't take Kano and his gang head-on. So she framed the Red Dragon for Jarek and Tasia's deaths, knowing that Kano would retaliate. It also confirms what Kenshi and Hanzo has told us in regards to the war between the two."

"Who'd have thought that Cassie and Montilyet would be the same person, let alone a mercenary?" Jax mused. Then his phone began to ring. He picked up his cell and answered it. "General Briggs."

"General. It's Lewis. She's here."

"Good. I'll notify Colonel Blade. That will be all." Jax ended the call. "Cassie just arrived in San Francisco from London."

"We know," Sonya said. "Johnny had the Lin Kuei tail her. And we know where she's going."

"Where?"

"The lakehouse at South Lake Tahoe. The one I bought for Rebecca? Cassie loved going there."

Jax nodded. He turned to Sonya. "Sonya, I want Charlie and Delta Teams on standby. We leave within the hour. Cassandra Cage is a high-value target."

"No."

The general and the colonel turned to the action star. "Excuse me?" Jax said.

"I said no." Johnny repeated. "You are not going to send armed soldiers after my daughter again, not to mention that Becky would kill me if the place got trashed..."

"...who is a former soldier-turned-mercenary," Jax reminded him. "A highly-trained and dangerous mercenary, one who has killed Kano and his lieutenants."

"Did you hear me, Briggs? That's. My. Daughter. You're not going to send a snatch squad after her. You failed the last time. This is just my problem as it is yours and Sonya's."

"Not my call. You can thank Secretary Blake for that."

"S-F had their shot, Briggs," Johnny replied, the tension rising between the two men. "Now, it's my turn. You send two snatch teams on her doorstep, you'll spook her. Just like what had happened in Seattle. Imagine what would happen if she finds out that you sent two more teams of Spec Ops on her doorstep. Imagine the carnage if Sonya is there with them, or if she ends up fighting you. You do this, and we lose her for good. If the both of you want Cassie back in the military, and in S-F, then we do this my way."

"It's not your way, Cage. It's my way or else."

"Would you do the same to Jacqui had the roles been reversed?"

Now Jax was pissed. He rose from his seat. "Don't you dare bring my daughter into this, Cage..."

"Enough! Both of you!" Sonya shouted.

Both men giving the other the stink eye, Jax and Johnny stood down.

Sonya sighed. "He's right."

Jax had a look that would be considered smug, until Sonya pointed to her husband. "I meant him."

Now Jax was shocked. Sonya was backing her husband?

But Sonya continued on. "Cassie will be on her guard, probably has been since Seattle. As much as I hate to admit, Johnny is the best chance we got." She turned to her husband. "What do you have in mind?"

"Sometimes the most difficult of problems requires a practical solution," Johnny replied, rising to his feet. "I'll go and talk to her."

Sonya was on her feet. "I'm coming with you."

Johnny turned to his wife. "No. You stay here. I'm going alone."

"Why? She's my daughter, too, Johnny," argued Sonya.

"And you're not exactly her favorite person at the moment, hon," Johnny said. "Cass is a lot like you when it comes to holding a grudge. Three years is a long time, and people change. Cassie is an unknown. You read her file. It reads like one of my movie scripts, and half of the stuff she's done I wouldn't have dreamed of. On top of that, she's killed a large number of Black Dragons, not to mention she did Kano and his buddies in."

"But..."

When it looked like that Sonya was going to argue, Johnny placed a hand on her shoulder. "Sonya...I know you want to make things right with Cassie, but if you come, then she will say no right off the bat. Cass still resents you for what you have done. Just imagine what kind of damage she can do to you if you're there."

He turned to Jax. "Like it or not, I'm your best chance. I already got one foot in the door because I'm her father. That's all I need for her to listen to me. But we do this my way. I go alone. No backup, no snatch squads."

Jax and Sonya took a moment to ponder Johnny's words. He did have a point. The Shirai Ryu and everyone else had failed, meaning that Cassie would be on her guard.

Sonya closed her eyes and sighed. She knew that her husband was right. She really hated those moments when her husband was actually right. At least he didn't lord it over her.

"You're not going alone, Cage," Jax said.

"I'm doing this alone," Johnny insisted. "This is not negotiable."

"It's okay, Jax," Sonya said. "Let him do this."

Jax sighed. "Fine. If you find Cassie, then tell her not only there's a spot open for her in S-F if she's interested. Since we can't pay her a mercenary's wage, Secretary Blake has authorized me to offer a commission for her."

"And if she says no?"

"Then we'll leave it at that. I won't pursue. You have my word."

Sonya grasped her husband's arm. "Bring Cassie home, Johnny."

Johnny smiled. "I will, babe." With a peck on the lips, Johnny was out the door.

* * *

The following day...

It had been a lazy day for Cassandra Cage. She rose at dawn, jogged along the trail, returned to her retreat, trained, cleaned and reloaded her pistols, ordered takeout Chinese, and lounged around the house. She checked her phone. No messages from Lynn, which was fine, as she needed a break from her job.

The lakehouse belonged to her aunt, Rebecca Carlton. Her father had bought it for her after losing a bet with her favorite aunt. It was her sanctuary, her private hideaway. It was here that she was not Catherine Montilyet, mercenary extraordinaire, but rather Cassie.

She loved being a 'private contractor,' but even she knew that she could not do this forever. Sooner or later, she would slip up. She had more than enough money saved up to retire. But she would probably go nuts not doing anything.

As she stood on the outdoor patio, looking out on the lake, Cassie was considering her options. With Kano dead and the Black Dragon destroyed, she could breathe a bit easier. Acting was out of the question, as it did not interest her, despite having incorporated it into her line of work. She could go to college, get a degree, but she found conventional work dull. She even flirted with the idea of going back to Seido or Outworld. As much as she hated to admit, she enjoyed the military life more than anything.

Cassie frowned. Even now, thinking about General – no, Colonel Blade left a bad taste in her mouth.

It was here, on the outdoor patio, was where her father had found her.

* * *

Cassie knew that it would only be a matter of time before S-F would try their luck again in trying getting to her. S-F had failed. After that, the Shirai Ryu failed in their task twice. And before that...well, she lost count after the first fifteen attempts. Fortunately, if it did came to blows, all Cassie left were bruised egos. Leaving behind dead bodies tend to cause problems.

She had prepared for every scenario. She just didn't expect her father to show up.

Cassie said nothing as her father approached her from behind. She still said nothing as he stood beside her. She did glance at him. Aside from his hair starting to go gray from the sides, he looked the same. She turned back to the lake, just as her father looked at her, and grinned.

"Thought you'd might be here," Johnny said.

"If it had to be someone who would finally track me down, I'm actually relieved that it was you," Cassie said. "How did you know?"

"Catherine Montilyet," her father replied. "When I heard the name, I got curious. I thought you hated 'Ninja Mime.'"

"I do, and just about everyone else. The French love it, though. Don't know why I chose Montilyet as my alias. It just stuck. How did you find me?"

"Ever wondered why the Lin Kuei apart from Frost didn't try to capture you?" Johnny asked. When Cassie looked at him, he explained. "Subzero owed me a favor in the past. I called it in, and had him tail you. It was after your little three-way-brawl between you and Kenshi's boy did he confirm your identity."

Cassie nodded. She had a contract in Japan after fleeing Seattle, working security for a Japanese-American businessman. Of course by that time. It had been sheer dumb luck that Cassie had encountered Frost while she was on leave. A fight ensued, which drew the attention of Takeda, who was also nearby. The one-on-one fight escalated into a three-way-brawl, one which Cassie had won.

"You've been busy for the past couple of years, Punkin."

Cassie smiled wryly. "I'm a little too old for Punkin, Dad." Her expression fell. "You didn't come here to chit-chat, Dad."

"Actually, that's part of the reason why I'm here."

"You're alone?"

Johnny nodded. "Yeah. Had to drive eight hours to get here. Jax and I almost came to blows over you. He wanted to try and send another snatch squad after you again. I said no."

"Even now, you're still protecting me. So Uncle Jax and Sonya know about me?"

Johnny couldn't help but to frown slightly as to how she addressed Sonya. Not 'Mom,' or 'Momma,' The way she said Sonya's name was as if she saw her as nothing more than a genetic donor, and not a mother.

"They do," he replied. "You mind if we continue this conversation inside?"

* * *

Inside the living room, Johnny settled in the armchair, while Cassie returned from the kitchen, bottled water in her hands. She tossed one to her father and sat down on the love seat.

"I haven't heard from you in a long time," Johnny said as he took a sip of water.

"You were worried about me?"

"Of course. You may be an adult, but you're still my daughter. Especially after I found out that it was you who provoked the Black Dragon into going after the Red Dragon."

"You disapprove?"

Johnny shook his head. "Sonya and Jax were restricted by the law. You weren't. I also think that you went after them for kidnapping both you and Jacqui, right?"

Cassie nodded. It had been Havik, the Cleric of Chaos, who had ordered both her and Jacqui to be kidnapped. Then they were taken to Shang Tsung's Island, where they had been corrupted by the Blood Code, and used as bait to lure their parents to the island in an attempt to make Reiko a god.

It was because of that incident which led Cassie and Jacqui to join the military. But it also left in Cassie a deep hatred towards the Black Dragon.

"The Red Dragon offered me a place within their organization. Not me, but Montilyet. I refused. I guess due to me killing Kano, they left me alone for the most part. Could be out of respect or fear for doing Kano in. They don't know that it was me who set them up for killing Jarek and Tasia."

"The Lin Kuei do. They had a mole inside the Black Dragon."

"Were you serious in saying that Uncle Jax was going to send two more snatch squads after me?"

Johnny nodded. "Yeah.

I convinced both him and Sonya that I would be the better choice. That, and your Aunt Rebecca would kill me if this place got trashed."

Cassie chuckled. "She does have a temper on her," admitted the younger Cage. "Guess that's why she's my favorite aunt."

"She's your **only** aunt."

Cassie laughed. Then she sighed. "I'm sorry, Dad, but I had to leave. I was so filled with rage..."

"I know. I saw your handiwork on your mother. She had to get her jaw rewired."

Cassie closed her eyes. "I never had any problems with my anger in the past...before the Blood Code. Nightwolf was a great help in purging the darkness out of me."

"I know. He told me. Of course, this is after you left for Outworld. Liu told me that he mentored you in the art of kombat when he came to visit the Shaolin Temples here."

Cassie nodded. "Both him and Kitana. Then I went to Seido, as I remembered you telling me about that trip."

"Sonya was pissed when she found out I had the Lin Kuei tail you. But then again, she did have the Shirai Ryu to try and capture you."

Cassie held up two fingers. "Twice. First time, it was just Takeda. The second time, Scorpion had came along with him, along with a squad of Shirai Ryu. Rather than get my ass handed to me by a former specter, I did the next best thing. I ran. Good thing I learned parkour while I was in Paris."

"Yeah, Sonya told me about that too. She said that Hanzou was actually impressed with how you managed to escape."

"And how is **Colonel** Blade?" Cassie asked, Johnny noticing the disgust in her voice as she pronounced her mother's rank with sarcasm.

"She's doing well. It was rough for a while. So you know about what has happened since you were away? About how you were cleared of all charges?"

"I saw the press conference," Cassie said. "I saw how the top brass accepted her request and busted her back down to Colonel." Cassie scoffed. "Now she decides to be selfless. Even now, she was only thinking about herself."

"There were mitigating circumstances as to why Sonya chose her job over you," Johnny said. "One of them was to keep you from spending time at the bed-and-breakfast down in Miramar."

"The Naval Consolidated Brig? Still not convinced, Dad."

Johnny shrugged his shoulders. "If I told you the reason why Sonya did what she did, you would not believe me. It would be best if she told you herself." Johnny leaned back in his chair. "She's been suffering, Cass. We all have. Your mom's a fighter, but that decision to save you has haunted her every single day."

"..." Cassie remained silent.

"We almost divorced over it. We had been separated for a while once I found out. Even kicked her out of the house," Johnny continued. He sighed. "Sonya's rep had taken a major hit because of what has happened. Turns out that Sonya had her own problems. Problems that even I did not know about. That woman can fight her way out of anything, but her biggest enemy was the bottle."

Now this surprised Cassie. "Mom's a drunk?"

Johnny nodded. "She hid it well. Even from me. She started drinking more after I had kicked her out. So much more that her job performance was starting to suffer. That's when Jax and I decided enough was enough. Say what you want about me and the tinman, but we tend to agree on certain things when either you or Sonya is involved. Probably the only thing we agreed on in years. He suspended Sonya for six months and I helped her get back on track. We reconciled, and she moved back in. She's been sober now for almost three years."

"And you?"

"Tai Chi," Johnny replied.

"Figures. You still act?"

"I'm on break. Been working as a consultant with S-F. Secretary Blake has asked me to put together a team consisting of Special Forces, Shaolin, and Shirai Ryu. We asked the Snowman if he could send a representative of the Lin Kuei, but he declined. In truth, the orders came from a higher authority."

"Old Sparky himself?"

Johnny nodded.

"Who else is on the team?"

"One other person, so far. Lieutenant Briggs."

Now Cassie was surprised. "Jacqui's a lieutenant?"

Johnny nodded. "Just finished O.C.S. She'll be at El Toro tomorrow."

"And you want me on the team?" his daughter surmised.

Again, Johnny nodded.

Cassie sighed. "Why me, Dad?"

"Because I want people I know I can trust. While Jacqui's view of me is mixed, she still respects Sonya. Even though I can still hold my own in kombat, I'm not getting any younger. I'll be 53 this year, Sonya's almost 50, and I seriously think that Kitana's not gonna tell us the secrets of Edenian longevity any time soon, unless Shang Tsung has a book about it lying around somewhere...Sooner or later, us older folks are gonna have to retire, and your generation will have to step up and take our place."

"I'm a mercenary, Dad. I doubt that S-F would want me on their payroll," Cassie noted with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Last time I checked, the U.S. military frowns down on such a thing."

"But Jax would. You've been cleared to come back to the military. Sonya saw to that. He's given me an offer to extend to you, but you'd be better hearing it from Jax himself."

"You want me to come with you to El Toro?"

"Yeah. Come with me, Cass, and hear Jax out."

"I would have to see Sonya again, would I?"

"It's inevitable. She is your mother."

"A real mother would have not sold me out in order to get promoted," Cassie spat out. "I...I can't forgive her, Dad."

"Be that as it may, Sonya did what she did to protect not only you, but myself, Jax and Jacqui as well." When Cassie demanded an explanation, Johnny refused to answer. "Like I said, it's not in my place to say anything. You want answers, then you need to speak with Miss Military."

"Why can't you tell me, Dad?"

"Cassie. Actor, remember?"

"Oh, Right."

"But I am impressed with how you used what I taught you to keep whoever is after you off your scent. Sure you don't want to be an actor if this doesn't pan out?"

"Positive, Dad."

Johnny shrugged his shoulders. "Ah, worth a shot."

"Do I have to?" Cassie whined.

"Yes, you do. She knows that by trying to keep you safe, she fucked up. All I ask is that you don't kill her. You can fight her, just don't kill her. She's trying to make amends, Cassie. Can't do that if she's dead."

"Why me, Dad?"

Johnny took a moment before he answered. "Because you're a lot like me. And whether you want to admit it or not, you're a lot like your mother as well. I don't like to fail and neither does Sonya. And you don't like to fail either. You want a shot at redemption, Jax is offering it. You've been redeemed in the public's eyes thanks to Sonya. Now it's time to show the world your worth. There's a flood coming, Cass. We're offering you a place on the ark."

When Cassie still looked unconvinced, Johnny leaned forward in his seat, and removed his shades. His brown eyes bore into his daughter's azure orbs. "Before you were born, your mother, Jax, Nightwolf, Kenshi, and myself saved Earthrealm from an angry former Elder God and his devils. I want you to do better. No...I **dare** you to do better."

* * *

Cassie had a lot to think about.

She was in bed, but sleep evaded her. All she did was look at the ceiling fan as it spun slowly. Her father was downstairs, stretched out on the couch. Cassie had suspected that he was down there just so she would not try to run.

So for the past hour, she was staring at the ceiling fan.

She got out of the bed and looked out the window. No one was outside. Her dad's car was parked next to hers. She walked over to the dresser's mirror and looked at her reflection. Most people say that she looked liked her mother when she was in her twenties, but her attitude was all Johnny. Jax complained about it all the time. Twenty-three years old, and she had made a name for herself as a mercenary.

But what the world didn't know was that Catherine Montilyet was a fake, a persona, a mask. At times, she had difficulty separating the two.

She did not want to admit it, but her father's words have struck a chord within her. As she was the daughter of Johnny Cage, she was his number one fan, which meant she knew the lines of his movies by heart. She could tell when he was lying, which was rare, as his policy was brutal honesty.

But here she was, given the opportunity to return to the military, but to join S-F. But that meant facing Sonya Blade.

Her mind drifted back to a memory, back when she was in Outworld, as a guest of Liu Kang. Like now, sleep had evaded her, and she decided to walk the corridors of the Royal Palace, stopping until she reached the courtyard.

It was here, that Empress Kitana, Kahnum of Outworld, found her.

[Flashback]

 _"Trouble sleeping, Cassandra?"_

 _Kitana's voice brought Cassie out of her reverie. Cassie looked up from the fountain. Clad in a robe, her long hair done up in a bun, Kitana Kahn approached her guest._

 _"Nightmares, Your Grace," Cassie replied. "The Blood Code. I still remember fighting my mother. But this time..." She looked at her hands. "I'm strangling her, choking the life out of her, while Jacqui caves my father's head in."_

 _Kitana could sympathize with the younger woman, as she too was part of the Blood Code event. Cassie and Jacqui had been brainwashed by Reiko and used as bait to lure their parents to Shang Tsung's Island. Kitana had decided to come along to help, while Mileena was seeking vengeance for Reiko's betrayal. Liu had been called away to Earthrealm._

 _The champions of Mortal Kombat had arrived on Shang Tsung's Island, where they were greeted by Reiko, Skarlet, a small group of Black Dragon soldiers, and a brainwashed Cassie and Jacqui. The battle was slowly turning in their favor when Raiden and Havik appeared, the former having been corrupted by the Blood Code, and incapacitated all with a lightning blast._

 _A portion of their blood had been taken from their bodies and given to Reiko for him to consume in order for him to become the Blood God. It was at this time, however, a very irate Liu Kang, Kenshi Takakashi and his son, Takeda, Nightwolf, and a revived Hanzo Hasashi crashed the ceremony, freed the incapacitated champions, and took the fight to Havik and his allies._

 _In the end, Nightwolf freed both Cassie and Jacqui from the Blood Code and purged the corruption from their bodies, Liu Kang had knocked Raiden out Kitana and Mileena took turns turning Reiko's head into a red stain; Kitana with her bladed fans and Mileena wielding her sais. When their respective weapons broke from overuse, they took turns smashing Reiko's head in with Shao Kahn's Wrath Hammer. Skarlet was put down by Hanzo, who had immolated her, tapping into the power he had as Scorpion, while Havik – who took sadistic pleasure in telling Jax, Sonya and Johnny about how their daughters called for their parents as he tortured them both – was being beaten down by said parents – Johnny's body enshrouded in his green shadow energy – who were then joined by their even more irate children._

 _The Blood God Cult had pleaded for mercy. None was given. Reiko's head had been smashed in for the fifteenth time. This time, it would not regenerate, as the Blood Code had burned itself out of his body. Kitana remembered Havik pleading for his life. Then Mileena had handed the elder kombatants Kahn's Wrath Hammer to her parents and Jacqui's dad, who proceeded to play Whack-A-Cleric with Havik's skull._

 _The event also drove a permanent wedge between Liu and Raiden. There would be no hope for reconciliation between the thunder god and the former Shaolin monk, according to Liu. It also earned Raiden's Sonya's resentment due to the Blood Code corrupting him as well. Only Johnny was on speaking terms with Raiden, seeing as how he is Raiden's chosen champion._

 _"I told you once before, no need for ceremony when we're like this," Kitana said. "Kitana is fine." She sat down beside her. "Liu told me about what has happened between you and Sonya. You believe that she has betrayed you."_

 _"She has. She chose her job over me."_

 _"I once thought that way," the Outworld empress replied. "Eons ago. I was but a child when Shao Kahn invaded Edenia. I thought that he was my father, and I thought that my mother betrayed both Kahn and me when she committed suicide. It was only in the days before Kahn invaded Earthrealm, did I discover the truth. By that time, Quan Chi had revived her and twisted her mind with his sorcery."_

 _Cassie nodded. "I know the story, of how Sindel came close to killing everyone. Of how Stryker killed her and himself in the process."_

 _"Part of me blames Stryker for what he had done. I believed that my mother could have been saved," Kitana continued. "I've made many mistakes in my long life, Cassandra. Your mother loves you. If anything, heed my advice. Don't forsake your mother like I did."_

 _"I...I can't."_

 _Kitana placed a hand on her shoulder. "I have given Mileena a second chance, Cassandra. Now she is a Princess of Outworld and serves as Captain of my Guard. I even pardoned Syzoth, and he serves as my spymaster. No one is beyond redemption, Cassandra Cage. Not your mother...not even you. Remember that."_

[End Flashback]

 **BEEP.**

Cassie turned to her phone. Activating it, there was a text message from Lynn.

 **Cass. Got a gig in the Czech Republic for you. Government official's the client. The coin is good. Let me know if you are interested.**

Cassie looked at the message. Then she looked at her reflection once again, her father's words in her mind.

 _'You see this person staring back at you? This is your greatest opponent, both in kombat and in life. Sooner or later, you will have to face yourself.'_

Cassie picked up the phone and fired back a text message.

 **Papa Cage dropped by. S-F wants to talk. Uncle Jax is offering me a place back in the Army. Suspecting there's a commission involved.**

After a moment, Lynn responded.

 **You're thinking about going, aren't you?**

Cassie responded with another text: **Yeah.**

Lynn: **You do realize that by heading back, you'll be dealing with You-Know-Who, right?**

Cassie: **I know. She knows who I am. Dad found out from the Lin Kuei. It's inevitable that I will have to confront her.**

Lynn: **Good luck, Cass.**

Cassie sighed. 'I'm gonna need it,' she thought as she placed the phone back down and got into bed. This time, she fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part Two**

Special Forces Training And Research Base El Toro - Colonel Blade's Office

Colonel Blade's office was smaller than Jax's office, but it reflected her personality. Sonya valued order above anything else. The office consisted of several file drawers located on one side of the wall containing personnel files on both the Special Forces operatives and the kombatants, her husband included, a couch beside the file drawers. A bookshelf held various photos, recommendations, and awards from the past twenty-seven years. The desk was placed perpendicular to her door.

Sonya Blade had spent the night on the base, having decided not to return home. She had slept inside her office, on the couch. Now, in a fresh uniform (as she kept spares in the office whenever she stayed over), she stood in front of a whitewash board, going over her daughter's past movements in the last couple of years. On one side of the board, done in permanent ink, was a map of the world. Taped in various locations, were photos from Cassie's supposed 'world tour' that she had taken from Cassie's Friendships page, along with scrawled notes in Sonya's handwriting about the various contracts Cassie had in various locations.

In between the continents of North America and Europe, Sonya had Cassie's old Army photo taped to the top.

It had been Johnny who had connected the dots. Since he had left to retrieve Cassie, Sonya had been filling in the blanks. She had been upset over the fact that Johnny had kept her in the dark in regards to her daughter, but she could understand why.

She had slept like a rock, but she was still troubled. Aside from the fifty Black Dragons she had killed, Cassie – as Catherine – had also slain a sex trafficking snatch squad who tried to kidnap her. According to the reports, she had sent their heads back to their boss as a warning. Not only did they back off, but Cassie avoided Warsaw from then on.

She was feeling a sense of anticipation, as well as dread. The reason being for her anticipation came in the form of a text from her husband, the phone resting on her desk.

Sonya. Found Cassie. Expect us at El Toro by noon. Cass still pissed at you, but willing to hear Jax out. Johnny.

Sonya turned her head to the door upon hearing Jax knocking on the door. She could always tell that it was him due to his bionic implants. "Come in, Jax," she called out, not turning from the dryboard.

"You didn't go home?" Jax asked upon entering the office.

"No. Slept here," Sonya replied. "Been busy tracking Cassie's movements for the past couple of years. Johnny figured it out."

"Figured out what?" Jax asked as he walked over to her and looked at the board.

"That her 'world tour' was a cover for her job as a merc. She was hiding in plain sight," Sonya explained. She pointed to a picture of Cassie in England, having taken a selfie in front of Big Ben. "London. Her contract was security detail for a banker. He claimed that she was Czech." She pointed to a second picture, this time, of Cassie in Paris, the Eiffel Tower seen in the background. "Paris. The job here was recon and surveillance. Her employer claimed that she was Italian." She then moved to a photo Cassie had taken in Montreal. "Montreal. Her job was working undercover at a ballet school. The owner was the mistress of a powerful businessman. He said that she was French."

When Cassie had approached Sonya about making the military into a career following the Blood Code Incident, Sonya had trained her into the ground, while her father took her to Seido for two weeks during the summer before her senior year. Jacqui had tagged along as well, as she too wanted to follow in Jax's footsteps. Sonya also had Cassie tutored in foreign languages, drilling her in Spanish, French and Italian. As Sonya would later find out, Cassie would add German, Chinese and Japanese to the languages she could speak to near-perfection.

Jax looked at Sonya. "Cassie knows ballet?"

Sonya nodded. "I made her take classes when she was a kid. Mom did the same to me when I was growing up. She once said that if you can survive a ballet workout, then everything else is a walk in the park." She continued on. "Then she decides to go after the Black Dragon when Tasia and Jarek tried to snatch her."

Jax turned back to the board. "How did she pull that off?"

Sonya pointed to the photos of Tasia and Jarek. "The Black Dragon extends an invite to Cassie, according to the Lin Kuei. She refused. So Kano sends Tasia and Jarek to kidnap her and force her into joining. Except that Cassie leads them to a trap. She kills the both of them, and frames the Red Dragon for the deed."

"Kano fights back," Jax surmised.

"Yeah. The reports from the Lin Kuei read that it had been by chance that Cassie encountered Tremor in Argentina," Sonya continued, tapping at the photo of Tremor's remains. "She waited until the assault group from the Red Dragon wore Tremor down. Then she blew up a car with a grenade launcher, the one Tremor was standing beside. Tremor lost his hand and both legs. Cassie finished him off by jamming a live grenade down his throat."

"And Kano blames the Red Dragon, right?"

"By this time, the Black Dragon has lost about 97 percent of its members due to being killed off," Sonya said. Then she pointed back to Hong Kong. "She used herself as bait and allowed the Black Dragon to capture her. But she escaped, disguised herself as a Black Dragon, and thinned out the numbers using assassination techniques taught to her by Kitana. Then when her cover was blown, she resorted to firearms and explosives."

"And in the process, she killed Kira," Jax noted.

"With Kano's lieutenants gone, there was Kano himself," Sonya said. She looked at the photos of Kano's mutilated body. "I've been chasing him for over twenty years, and Cassie was able to to the one thing that we couldn't do. She killed Kano."

"Hard to believe that this is the same little girl I watched grow up."

"Yeah," Sonya said. After a brief silence, Sonya spoke again. "You don't have to be hard on Johnny, Jax. As his wife, that's my job."

Jax sighed. "I know. He just pisses me off to no end."

"I know. I married him, remember? Despite his flaws, he's a patient husband, and a good father."

"And I still find that hard to believe."

"Would you believe me if I told you that he's bringing Cassie here?" Sonya asked. When Jax turned to look at her, Sonya continued. "He left me a message. Cassie's accompanying him here."

"He actually succeeded?" Jax asked, shocked. "He succeeded where we and everyone else failed?"

"That's the difference in our parenting skills," Sonya said with a sad grin. "I demand. He asks. I've also been listening in on their conversation when they first arrived."

"Johnny still doesn't know that you had his phone bugged?" Jax asked.

"No."

During their years of marriage, Sonya had a fear that Johnny would leave her for another woman. So she had taken his phone to the techies at Special Forces and had them install a tracking program and a bug for her to listen in on his conversations, be it on the phone or off it.

While Sonya was relieved that Johnny remained loyal to her, she was concerned over how Cassie spoke of her, as she had listened in on Johnny and Cassie's conversation. She knew that Cassie held her in contempt, and had hoped it had waned over time. While the hatred was gone, the animosity was still there. Sonya knew that Cassie would come solely because Johnny asked her to.

It was probably the only time that Sonya actually was thankful that Johnny was the favorite parent between them.

"You know that this is going to be a battle between you and Cassie, right?" Jax asked.

"Yeah. She's stubborn. Like her father...and me. Johnny's not entirely blameless in that department. You think she's going to go for the commission you're offering?"

"One can only hope, Sonya. What's their E.T.A.?"

"Less than fifteen minutes. Cassie paid off a cargo pilot to transport both her and her father to L.A. Their plane has already landed." She turned from the board and back to her longtime friend. "She still hates me, Jax."

"She doesn't know the whole story," Jax said, placing one bionic hand on her shoulder. "You need to talk to her, and clear the air."

"How?" Sonya demanded, brushing Jax's hand from her shoulder. "What am I supposed to say to her? 'Hi, Cass. I'm sorry for screwing the pooch when it came to your career, let's kiss and make up?'" She sat on the edge of her desk and sighed.

"Just tell her the entire truth about why you did what you did," Jax said.

"But the million-dollar question is will she listen to me," Sonya rebuked.

Jax had no reply to that. A second knock on the door distracted them from the conversation and Sonya gave the order to enter. Her aide stuck her head inside. "Colonel Blade. They're here."

Sonya nodded and her aide closed the door behind her. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. She was no stranger to kombat. Her role as one of Raiden's chosen warriors has proven that. But now, she faced the greatest challenge in her life: her daughter.

* * *

Johnny Cage had chartered a cargo plane to carry the both of them and their cars - his being a restored 1970 Chevrolet SS Muscle Car, black with white stripes - back to Los Angeles. There, Cassie had left her car at his home and rode with him in his car to the base. As he was the husband of Colonel Blade, he was given access to El Toro with no problem.

Cassie had been silent for the duration of the near 50-minute drive from Venice Beach to El Toro. All she did was look out the window, lost in her thoughts. Johnny had anticipated that Cassie's anxiety would rise in anticipation of meeting her mother after three years. But she remained cool as a cucumber.

Even after gaining access to the base, she remained calm, even as Johnny drove to the main admin building.

"I know you and Sonya got some things to work out," Johnny said as he approached their destination, Sonya and Jax already outside, waiting on their arrival, "just promise me that you'll at least talk to her sometime this week."

Cassie gave her father the stink eye as he parked the car. He didn't see it as he was getting out of his ride. Muttering to herself, Cassie opened the door and got out. She opted not to wear her glasses, as she wanted to stare down her mother.

Rather than the business suit she wore as Catherine Montilyet, she was dressed casual; a red sleeveless shirt underneath a dark brown jacket, also sleeveless and zipped up halfway, black slacks and knee-high boots. A pair of black gloves were on her hands. She was armed, as a force of habit, the dual Glock 18c's secured in her custom-made holsters, the guns situated behind her back.

Jax and Sonya watched as Cassie fell into step beside her father. Sonya kept her poker face, but inside, she was of conflicting emotions. She felt joy in seeing her daughter alive, but she could feel the intense resentment sent in her direction. Johnny was the easiest for her in earning his forgiveness. Cassie was another story. Out of reflex, her jaw clenched, as she remembered their last confrontation.

Johnny stopped, as did Cassie when they were within arms' reach of the bionic-armed general and the blonde colonel.

"Cassandra," greeted Jax. "Welcome to El Toro."

"Uncle Jax," Cassie responded. She then turned her head to Sonya, silencing her before she got a chance to speak. "Sonya," she said in a cold, flat tone.

Sonya was taken aback. Johnny winced in sympathy, as did Jax. This was not going to end well. A silent plea from Johnny made Sonya bite her tongue from saying something she would probably regret. "Cassandra," she responded.

"Well...S-F wanted me for a sit-down," Cassie said, turning back to Jax. "And here I am. Do you want to discuss business out here or inside?"

"My office will do," Sonya replied.

"No," Cassie replied. "I'd rather speak with General Briggs. Alone."

"Why?" Sonya asked.

"Because you won't be there," Cassie replied in that same cold tone.

Now Sonya was furious. She took a step forward, but Johnny whispering her name in a harsh tone stopped her. Another silent order to stand down. She had almost let her temper get the better of her. She backed down. Hands balled into fists, she chose her words carefully as she delivered her measured response to her estranged daughter.

"I understand you're still angry with me. I'm not proud with what I had done. I did what I did not as a military officer, but as a mother. I did what I did in order to protect not only you, but our family."

"A lot of good it did," Cassie rebuked. "Tell me something Sonya. Did it go as planned?"

Sonya said nothing else. She turned on her heels and walked back inside the admin building. Johnny excused himself and took off after her, leaving Cassie and Jax alone.

"Follow me, please," Jax said. "We'll talk in my office."

Cassie nodded and followed Jax inside. 

* * *

Inside Jax's office, Jax sat in his chair, while Cassie sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Honestly, I'm surprised you decided to come," Jax said.

"Dad asked nicely. Something you and Sonya should have tried doing instead of sending armed soldiers after me. You'd probably wouldn't do that had Jacqui been in my place."

"Yeah, Vera would have probably killed me over that," Jax said. "At the time, I didn't know that you and Montilyet were one and the same."

"You would have found out if Sonya was successful in capturing me."

"For that, I do apologize," Jax said.

"Accepted."

Jax cleared his throat. "You really shouldn't be so hard on your mother."

"Pot, meet kettle. You're been pretty hard on Dad since I was a kid."

"I'll concede that point to you. Sonya's been kicking herself over what has happened. Her rep's taken a serious hit with the NCO's and the commissioned officers here, despite the circumstances that led to your discharge. She's put her career on the line to have you cleared and the discharged changed."

"What do you want me to do, Uncle Jax? Give her a standing ovation?"

"Just an ear to listen to. Not right away, but sooner or later, hear her out. There's too much bad blood between the both of you," Jax replied. He picked up Cassie's file. "Do you know what this is? Your file detailing your exploits as Catherine Montilyet."

"S-F's been keeping records of me?"

"No. The Lin Kuei. Johnny had them tail you and dig into your background. A year and a half spent training with Nightwolf, then in Outworld with Liu and Kitana, and Seido. You made a name for yourself as a reliable, if not a very expensive mercenary."

"I prefer 'freelance contractor,'" Cassie corrected. "It's more respectable."

Jax set the file down. "Aside from the mercenary work, you successfully avoided various snatch squads from various law enforcement and military entities. Twenty in total. Care to explain?"

Cassie smiled meanly. "They were looking for Catherine Montilyet, not Cassandra Cage. When they find me instead of Montilyet, they let me go with their apologies."

"And Kano?"

"All me," Cassie confirmed. "He and his buddies underestimated me. He kidnapped me and Jacqui, which led to the both of us being corrupted by the Blood Code. I deserved payback."

"Kano died painfully," Jax noted.

"I should know. I was the one who killed him and his lieutenants," Cassie replied. There was no boasting, her tone was casual mixed with a hint of professionalism. "S-F's been chasing after Kano long before I was born. Kano was too dangerous to be left alive. Neither him or his son."

Now Jax was surprised. "Kano had a son?"

"Yeah. Mother was an Outworlder. Kano was grooming him to follow in his footsteps. When Kitana Kahn found out, she saw him as a threat, and ordered his execution. Mileena and I tracked him down and she was the one who carried it out. With extreme prejudice."

Cassie remembered that day very well. Kano's son had been hiding out in Z'unkahrah, the Osh-Tekk stronghold. Kano's son had been tasked to build a Black Dragon stronghold in the city. But Kitana had caught wind of it and had dispatched both Mileena and Cassie to investigate. When it became clear that what Kitana had heard was indeed true, Mileena ambushed the fledging Black Dragon member, and quite literally, tore him apart.

"And Kano?"

"He would have escaped, as he had done in the past. So I manipulated the Black Dragon and the Red Dragon into killing each other off. You're welcome by the way. Unfortunately, my killing Kano had put me on the radar of every military entity and criminal organization on the planet. So I kept moving, using the 'world tour' as a cover. In truth, I was just a drifter with a high-paying job."

Jax was silent for a moment. "How did you escape us in Seattle?"

Cassie smiled. "Easy. I knocked out a Spec-Ops soldier, stole his uniform, and walked out of a side entrance. Even walked past you and Sonya. You didn't notice because of the mask and goggles that I had on. I was almost expecting you two to notice my bag."

Jax nodded. "How do you like your current job?"

Cassie shrugged her shoulders. "It's okay. The pay's good and I make my own hours. I would probably be miserable in a conventional line of work, which is why I do what I do."

Jax leaned forward in his chair. "Cassie...how would you like to return to the Army?"

Cassie's eyebrow raised. "What? As a consultant like Dad?"

"Not like your dad. As a soldier, a full-fledged member of Special Forces' E.S.D."

"E.S.D.?"

"Earthrealm Strategic Defense. We're the successor to the Outer World Investigation Agency."

"I thought that the American military doesn't use mercenaries. And besides, unlike Dad, who is doing this for free, I'm very expensive, as you already know, Uncle Jax. S-F can't afford me."

"Which is why I have an alternative," Jax said as he opened his desk drawer and pulled out a small item. "I've spoken with Secretary Blake. He knows about you and most of your exploits, and has authorized me to make you an offer, one beneficial for all parties involved. Of course, we had to make sure that you are cleared to return. You were labeled as RE-1: recommended and eligible."

He tossed it to Cassie, who caught it in one gloved hand. When she looked at it, she was indeed surprised. A single gold bar, three-quarters of an inch in height and one-quarters of an inch in length.

"This is the alternative?" Cassie asked. "A commission to Second Lieutenant?"

Jax nodded. "You'll be the same rank as Jacqui. She should be arriving later on in the day. As you spent time in Outworld and Seido, you know the major players there, which can be used for our advantage in the future. Of course, should you accept, then that means that you can no longer work freelance. I can omit you from O.C.S., given your training in Seido."

"Dad mentioned that you went there just to prove that you could survive the training," Cassie said with amusement.

"Yeah. I'll never live that down," Jax grumbled as he remember what Johnny had told him about his trip to Seido in order to control his powers. Jax wasn't convinced, until he himself went along with Sonya for six weeks.

When they returned, they both were in bed for an entire week, Hotaru having ran the both of them ragged. Cassie could sympathize, as she and Jacqui were also bedridden for a week following their return.

Cassie looked at the rank, weighing her options. Then she stood up, walked to the desk, and placed the rank back on the desk. Jax thought that Cassie was going to refuse when she asked, "Can I have some time to think this over?"

Jax nodded. "Of course. But you don't have long, Cage. You got one week."

"I'll make my decision long before then," Cassie replied.

"Fair enough," he said as he summoned his aide. "You'll need a place to stay. Captain, see to it that Miss Cage is set up in the officer's dorms. She is here as my guest."

Cassie nodded her thanks and followed the aide out of the office.

* * *

While Jax speaks with Cassie...

Johnny stood in front of Sonya's office door. When he tried to open it, he found the door locked. He rapped on the door. "Sonya? Open the door."

"Go away."

Johnny groaned. "You knew this was going to happen, Sonya. I warned you. Now open the door."

"I said go away, Cage!"

Johnny growled. "Sonya Adeline Blade, open this door or I'm gonna kick it in. Your choice. You can bill me for the damages if I do. Five...four...three...two..."

 **CLICK.**

Johnny stopped counting when he heard the lock disengage. He opened the door and stepped inside. Rather than being seated at her desk, Sonya was slumped on the couch. Sonya was trying her hardest not to cry, Johnny realized. She was trained not to show emotions, but now, that training was one step away from being thrown out of the window.

"Well," Johnny began, trying to break the mood, "it could have been worse."

"'Worse?'" Sonya repeated. "'Worse?!'" Now she was shouting. "How could it possibly be any more worse?!"

"Worse case scenario: she could have shot you right off the bat," Johnny replied. "Or she could have reformed the Black Dragon after offing Kano." He sat down beside her and placed one hand around her shoulder.

"She hates me, Johnny," Sonya whispered, her voice cracking. "She hates me..."

"Cassie doesn't hate you, Sonya. She just doesn't trust you. There is a difference. I got her here. The rest is up to the both of you. She's hurting too, Sonya. She's been running for three years. She just doesn't realize it." He gave her a squeeze. "Give her time to cool down. She's not going anywhere for the time being. Just give her some space for the remainder of the day."

Sonya could only nod as the tears began to fall. She cried silently as she leaned into her husband for support. 

* * *

Meanwhile...

Cassie looked around the place she was put up in for the duration of her stay. Living room, kitchenette, bedroom, closet and bathroom, your basic housing for an unmarried officer. And it was furnished, which was a bonus. Jax's aide had left her with a key and a visitor's pass before leaving Cassie alone.

Cassie walked over to the window and peeked through the blinds. Nothing on the left side of the street, but there was a parked unmarked sedan with two MPs watching the place.

"Not taking any chances, aren't you, General?" Cassie mused to herself. "Think I'd run? I wouldn't blame you."

She turned from the window and sat back down on the couch. Pulling up her kit bag, she began to unpack, placing various items on the coffee table. Her dual Glock 18c pistols, which had been a gift from her father when she graduated boot camp. Two boxes of ammo and four loaded clips. Several passports under various aliases, several packs of contact lenses, and a three wigs; blonde, brunette and redhead. The bundles of cash remained in the bag. It was a bag that contained the tools of her trade. There were several other items she had left inside, such as her backup pistol - a Heckler & Koch VP70 pistol, her collapsible baton, a couple of switchblades, and several lockpicks in a chamois cloth. The last thing she pulled out was her MP3 player, her laptop, and a pair of new earbuds.

She powered on her laptop, stretched out across the couch, and checked her e-mail. As expected, Lynn had sent her the details of the Czech assignment. Nothing fancy, just a security escort from Prague to Munich and back to Prague. As expected, the coin was indeed good.

Cassie held off on accepting the assignment. She did fire back a message to Lynn, saying that the decision was still pending.

The next thing she checked were her bank accounts. She had three accounts; the trust fund Johnny had set up in her name, which was still earning interest, as she hardly used it, and the two under her alias. Both were worth a combined total of $40 million. It also helped that she stole the Black Dragon's ill-gotten funds from their warehouse and added them to her account, payment for the job of assassinating Kano and his crew. It was blood money, no doubt but Kano made it personal when he dragged both her and Jacqui into his feud with her parents and Jax.

Cassie didn't like to kill, which is why she refused any wet-work jobs that came her way. Getting her hands dirty was something she considered to be a last resort. Some of the mercs who did assassination jobs turned out to be complete psychos.

Cassie grunted in slight pain as she adjusted herself on the couch. Her ribs were bothering her again. Kano had worked her over pretty good when the Black Dragon had captured her. Nothing serious, just hairline fractures. The doctors said that she needed to rest in order for the ribs to heal properly. But she had to keep moving, to stay one step ahead from the snatch squads out to get her.

Then Frost cracked one of them, and she had to lay low in Spain for a while, having fled Japan. After a month, she was on the move again.

As she tried to adjust herself on the couch, there was a knock on the door.

'God, that had better not be Sonya,' Cassie thought darkly, as thought of maiming her mother ran through her head. She thought of ignoring it, but then again, it could be her dad, checking up on her.

She stood up and walked over to the door. "Who is it?"

"Open the door, Cage," a female voice replied, one Cassie hasn't heard in three years.

A quick peek through the peephole confirmed her suspicious. She smiled and unlocked the door and opened it, finding herself face-to-face with her childhood friend, in uniform, holding a bag of Chinese takeout in one hand.

Cassie's face broke into a wide grin. "Jacqui."

Jacqueline Briggs returned the grin. "Cassie."

The girls embraced, Cassie wincing slightly from the pressure Jacqui put on her ribs. "Ow. Ow. Easy on the ribs. They're still healing."

Jacqui released her. "Sorry. What happened?"

"A three-way fight between Frost, myself and Takeda," Cassie replied. "I'm fine, really." She looked down. "Chinese? From Wang's?"

"Of course."

Cassie stepped to the side, allowing Jacqui to enter. 

* * *

Back in Jax's Office...

"How's Sonya?" Jax asked as Johnny entered the office.

"Still shook up after Cassie giving her the cold shoulder," Johnny replied. "I warned her that this would happen. I'll take her back home for the night. What did Cassie say?"

"She said nothing," the bionic-armed kombatant replied. "She wants some time to think it over."

"I'm not surprised," Johnny said. "Cass has always been stubborn."

"Must be a Cage family trait," Jax snorted.

"Also a Blade specialty," Johnny added.

"True. So what do we do now?"

"Nothing," Johnny replied. "We can't force Cassandra to make a decision. She has to do that on her own."

"You're putting an awful lot of faith in your daughter, Cage," Jax noted.

The actor shrugged. "Wouldn't be that much of a father if I didn't."

Sure he disliked Johnny for his movies (most of them, while Vera liked them), but his single redeeming quality was that he was a good father to Cassie. She didn't grow up spoiled like most rich girls, Johnny had made sure of that. When Cassie decided to go in the military, Johnny supported her. And now, Johnny was their only lifeline in getting Cassie back in the military, as much as he hate to admit it.

"Does Jacqui know?" Johnny asked.

"She knows that Cassie is here. But she does not know about us trying to get her back in S-F."

"Okay...leave Cassie alone for the time being. She's not going anywhere. If she does, then Jacqui will sound the alarm if she tries to run."

"You sure about that?" Jax asked.

"That's what I would do." 

* * *

It was as if they were teenagers again. Having sleepovers at either Jax's home on the base or at the Cage Family's Venice Beach Condo, talking over junk food and takeout from Wang's Chinese Diner.

They were in the living room, Cassie having cleared the table and placing the items back in her bag, the coffee table now littered with several open cartons of food. Jacqui blamed Cassie's dad for getting her hooked onto Chinese food, but it was so damned good.

For the moment, Cassie had been telling Jacqui of all the places she been to during her world tour. From the look of things, Jacqui didn't know about her and Montilyet being the same person. Oh well, might as well tell her, Cassie surmised.

"Jacqui...what do you know about Catherine Montilyet?"

Jacqui looked up from her fried rice. "The mercenary? I heard of her reputation. Said to be one of the best mercs on the planet. I've heard talk about her killing Kano, which is why S-F is interested in her. Why? You met in your travels?"

Cassie merely smiled. "I know her very well, Jacqui." She pointed to herself. "She's me."

"You're joking, right? **You're** Catherine Montilyet?"

"Yep. For the past three years, I've been working as a freelance contractor. And before you ask, in regards to Kano and the Black Dragon, yes, I killed them. They kidnapped us and handed us over to Havik and his buddies to be used as bait for our parents. Kano had to pay...for the both of us."

Jacqui looked at Cassie as if she had been gut punched. Her best friend was not only the infamous merc who had given S-F the slip, but was also responsible for killing Kano and his lieutenants? Cassandra Cage, of all people, did what Aunt Sonya and her dad failed to do in stopping Kano?

"You know, your jaw will lock if you keep it like that," Cassie noted, as Jacqui's jaw was open in shock.

Jacqui got over her shock. "You offed Kano?"

"I did."

"How?"

"I was on the Black Dragon's radar when I became known as a contractor," Cassie explained. "Kano sent Jarek with an invite to join the Black Dragon. I refused. Kano didn't like that, so he sent Jarek again, but this time, he was backed by Tasia."

Jacqui nodded. "I remember those two. The MMA Deathmatch Ring back in L.A. They were the ones who kidnapped us."

"As good as I am, I know I can't survive against seasoned killers. So I went with the next best thing: deception and traps. I used to work with a PMC before I went solo, so I learned some tricks from a merc who used to be a combat engineer with the Marines."

"I'm afraid to ask..."

"I'll save you the task. I leaked out where I was staying, knowing that Kano would jump on it. He sent Tasia and Jarek to an old safehouse I use when I was in Macau." Cassie smiled meanly. "A tripwire, a cigarette lighter and a ruptured gas line was what did Tasia in. Then, while Jarek was distracted, I moved in..."

[Flashback]

 _Macau, China - about ten months earlier..._

 _Cassie Cage watched from the shadows of a nearby alley as Tasia entered the building, wearing a hoodie over her clothes, the hood covering her head. Her bag was near by. The building was a three-story converted warehouse that she used as a safehouse, while Jarek remained with the car. She had hoped that the both of them would had entered the building, but at least the greater threat would be out of the way._

 _Cassie knew that with the deaths of Tasia and Jarek, that Kano would come after her with a vengeance. But Kano had already made it personal when he had kidnapped both her and Jacqui years earlier, which led to the Blood Code Incident. She was merely taking the war to him._

 _ **KA-BOOOOMMMM!**_

 _The top floor of the safehouse erupted in a ball of angry red and orange flame, glass and debris raining onto the streets below._

 _And as Cassie saw, a flaming corpse, still holding her mangled ninjato in her hands, was sent flying out of the inferno, and smashed onto the car's chassis, denting it and breaking the windshield from the impact._

 _As Jarek was distracted, Cassie made her move. Pistols in hand, she emerged from the alley. Jarek's instincts told him that he was not alone, and spun around, axe at the ready. But Cassie was quicker on the draw._

 _ **BLAM! BLAM!**_

 _Jarek screamed as the nine-millimeter slugs destroyed his kneecaps. He dropped his axe, and fell to his knees, just as Cassie kicked them away. Jarek knew that he was a dead man, but he was defiant as he glared at the hooded figure._

 _"Do you have any idea who you're fucking with?! Do you have any idea as to who my boss is?!" he shouted, albeit in pain. "You bitch!"_

 _"I do," Cassie replied as she pulled back her hood, giving Jarek a good look at her face. It had been several years, but Jarek recognized her instantly. After all, he and Tasia did kidnap her and Jacqui years earlier. "You?!"_

 _"Oh, so you do remember me, Jarek. I'm touched."_

 _"You...you're Montilyet?!"_

 _"Yup. One and the same. I was hoping that I would catch both you and Tasia. But one isn't so bad." Cassie stated calmly as she leveled her pistol at Jarek's head._

 _"Look...what happened with you and Briggs...it was only business! Nothing personal!" Jarek pleaded._

 _"It was all personal to me," Cassie replied before pulling the trigger, the bullet making a perfect little hole in Jarek's head. Surprisingly enough, there was no exit wound. She ignored the blood squirting out of the bullet hole, popped her gum, took it out of her mouth, and jammed it into the bullet hole. With a morbid fascination, she watched as it filled up, then popped like a balloon. Then he keeled over._

 _Cassie then checked on Tasia. She had died instantly from the blast. Then, she planted two items near Jarek's corpse; a tattered piece of cloth with the crimson insignia of the Red Dragon emblazoned on the fabric, and a scrap sheet of paper, with a single sentence written in Chinese._

 ** _This Black Dragon infidel has paid the price for his treachery._**

 _Cassie grinned. With the deaths of Jarek and Tasia, the war between the Black and Red Dragons would reignite with a vengeance. What better way to exact vengeance than to let the Red Dragon do the heavy lifting?_

 _Her task finished, Cassie retreated._

[End Flashback]

Jacqui looked at Cassie as if she had grown a second head. "You killed Jarek and Tasia, then framed the Red Dragon for their deaths?" she asked.

Cassie nodded. "It was better for me this way. Besides, they've been at each other's throats for years. If Kano found out that I was the one who had killed Jarek and Tasia, then Uncle Jax, Dad and Sonya would have been at risk. Better for the Dragons to try and kill each other, let them get their hands dirty."

Jacqui swallowed audibly, but found that her throat was dry. She took a long pull of the bottled water as Cassie continued to tell her story.

"You know the saying 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend?' Over the months, the Black Dragon's numbers dwindled due to repeated attacks by the Red Dragon. Then, it was by chance, that I ran into Tremor when I was in Buenos Aires."

"How did he die?" Jacqui asked.

"Grenade to the head. This is after he had been worn down by a Red Dragon assault squad, and after I blew up a car he was standing next to with a grenade launcher, which destroyed his legs and one of his hands. By that time, Kano and Kira were left, and the Black Dragon's numbers were in the critical numbers."

"So Kano decided that enough was enough and went after the Red Dragon himself," Jacqui said.

"Yup. But when he found out that I was in Hong Kong with information in regards to the Red Dragon, he and his men ambushed me. For a savvy mercenary, he didn't realize that I was the trap I let him capture me and take me to a Black Dragon warehouse. It was him, Kira and fifty Black Dragon goons. I escaped by bonds, killed Kira, and proceeded to murder the fifty men inside, all while disguised as one of them. My time in Outworld has taught me to appreciate the art of the silent kill. Of course, when I was found out, C4 works just as well."

"And Kano?"

"One of the Black Dragon members was female, so I dressed her in my clothes. Kano fell for it, and for his troubles, got two bullets in the back. Then I had him strung up the same way he had done to me. He died...very painfully, Jacqui..."

[Flashback]

 _Black Dragon Hideout, Hong Kong – nine months earlier_

 _Cassie grinned as she watched Kano sputter to life after throwing a bucket of water at him. "Wakey-wakey," she said in a crisp Australian accent._

 _"Who...wha...Montilyet?!" Kano sputtered, looking at the blood-spattered woman._

 _"Got it in one, mate," Cassie said, tossing the bucket to the side, where it clattered next to a table. Kano had hand-picked these items originally for Cassie's 'interrogation:' pliers, scapels, even a hot poker. But they've been replaced with far more sinister items: a pair of brass knuckles, a sawed-off shotgun and his signature oversized Bowie knives._

 _Kano struggled, tried to get himself free. But it was no use. She had tied his hands pretty good, and they were hanging from a hook above his head, just as how she had been hours earlier. Even worse, he couldn't move his legs. He even tried to use his faceplate in order to blow a smoking hole in Cassie's head, but found that to be disabled._

 _"I didn't like the looks of that red eye of yours," Cassie said, still using the Outback twang. "So I disabled it. A scalpel to the eye works wonders, don't you think?"_

 _"You little bitch!" Kano bellowed. "You're dead! Your family is dead! Just wait till I get out of here! Your grandchildren will curse your name after I get through with you!"_

 _"Gee, and here I thought you wanted to play with me," Cassie said, throwing what Kano had said back in her face when the roles were reversed._

 _After he had laid into her with several body blows, he had said, "You're a tough one, love. Tell ya what...I'll give you an hour. See if you have anything beneficial to tell me. If not, then we'll play some more."_

 _"As for your legs," Cassie continued, "I shot you in your spine. Your legs are useless." Now she dropped the accent._

 _"You're not Australian," Kano said._

 _"No. Neither French, and Montilyet is not a French name," Cassie replied. "We met before, Kano. Several years ago, you kidnapped me and my best friend."_

 _"I done plenty of snatch jobs. Nothing personal, just good business."_

 _"You made it personal with my parents. Then again, you do have a...'invested rivalry' with them." Cassie then caught herself as she realized that she still had on her wig. She removed it and let it drop to the floor. "Do you recognize me now, Kano?"_

 _Kano's eye narrowed in realization. "You're Sonya's brat. I heard you got kicked out of the military. Made Mom proud, didn't ya?"_

 _That earned him a solid punch to the ribs. "Next one is going to be in the noots," Cassie threatened._

 _"So...you're Catherine Montilyet," Kano gasped. "What happens now?"_

 _"Oh it's easy. I'm going to do what my parents and Jax failed to do. I'm going to kill you, Kano. Nice and slow. You think I'm bluffing? The bodies of your comrades say otherwise." She smiled evilly. She walked over to the table, and regarded the items she had chosen._

 _Now Kano was starting to get worried as Cassie picked up one of Kano's Bowie knives and regarded it for a moment. "I can actually see why people like to use a blade. My time in Outworld and Seido has made me appreciate a weapon like this, thanks to Kitana." She turned to Kano. "When you stab somebody...it's personal. You get to watch as the life fades from their eyes, the last thing they realize before they die is knowing that it was the one wielding the knife who killed them."_

 _She placed the knife back down and picked up the brass knuckles. "Do you want to know what it was like, being under the Blood Code, Kano? I remember the rage, the desire to kill my parents, and the power. Oh, it's seductive, an addictive thrill. But the pain when you are first stabbed with the Kamidogu..."_

 _"Hey, I wasn't the one who did that to you!" Kano defended. "All I was paid to do was to deliver you to Reiko and Havik! It was just business!"_

 _"But I hold you as the personal most directly responsible." she replied as slipped the brass knucks on her fingers. "You accepted the job."_

 _"What...what are you doing?" Kano demanded as he tried to break free, despite being paralyzed from the waist down._

 _Cassie strolled over to the bound cutthroat, brass knuckles on both hands. "Isn't it obvious? I thought wanted to play with me," she mock-pouted. "That's what you said when I was hanging by my hands, right?"_

 _Now Kano was scared. Who'd knew that Sonya's little girl turned out to be such a homicidal psychopath? But the proof lied in the bodies of his lieutenants and the dead Black Dragon members. Dead and there was nary a scratch on her. He should know, as he had to walk through their bodies and remains._

 _"Come on, Cassie. Let me go, eh?" Kano pleaded. "I'm sorry for what me and my guys did to you and Jacqui. Let bygones be bygones, okay? How about a trade? Let me go and I'll turn myself in to your mom and Jax. Hell, I'll let you turn me in. May get you back in the military."_

 _"Shh...don't beg," Cassie whispered. "It doesn't suit you. You brought me here because you wanted to 'play' with me." Her smile grew feral, bordering on insanity. 'And they say I can't act,' she thought. 'Dad would be proud. Too bad acting isn't my cup of tea.' "I played with Tasia...then I played with Jarek. Tremor was the best. I had a ball playing with Kira. And now...I wanna play with **you**."_

 _Kano's eye now widened with Cassie's confession._

 _"Did you really think that the Red Dragon killed your comrades?" Cassie continued. "It was all me. Jarek...Tasia...and Tremor. I played both the Black and Red Dragons like a fiddle. The other PMCs wouldn't touch you without putting themselves and their families at risk. I just took a different path. The Red Dragon merely provided the smokescreen. And the funny thing is that I tend to avoid the wetwork assignments. But this...you made this personal."_

 _"You...you're insane, Cage!"_

 _"Not as insane as you think," Cassie replied. "Besides...I thought that's what the Black Dragon was looking for, right? A healthy dose of insanity in their prospects mixed with that killer instinct. Maybe the Blood Code did screw with my mind. Maybe Nightwolf didn't purge the corruption out of me completely. Oh well." She looked at his bare torso and gave it a pat. "You'd have to be about what, almost sixty? And still in good shape for an old man."_

 _And thus, the torture began. For the next hour, Cassie used Kano's torso and face as a punching bag, breaking the bones in his ribcage, face, and rupturing organs. Kano's screams of pain were like music to Cassie's ears as she continued to work on his torso. Then she got tired of him screaming and landed a particularly hard strike on his face._

 _After an hour, Cassie dropped the brass knuckles, where they landed with a **CLANG** on the floor. "Y'know, the PMC I used to work for usually outsource this type of work," she mused, "And you're still alive." She made a thoughtful pose. "They say that torture is the ultimate form of expression, wouldn't you agree, Kano?" When Kano tried to reply, but couldn't Cassie said, "Oh, right. I broke your jaw. And I think I fractured your eye socket. Oopsies." She giggled._

 _Kano mumbled out a reply._

 _"Oh, don't worry, Uncle Kano," Cassie teased, patting him on the head before moving back to the table. Her hands casually trailed along the handle of the sawed-off shotgun before settling once again onto his oversized knives. "Playtime is almost over." She grabbed both knives and walked over to Kano._

 _"Let's see...should I stab you in the heart?" Cassie mused, casually pointing the tip of the massive blade against Kano's chest, causing the injured man to flinch. "Although I would probably have to deliver a cool one-liner like my dad in his movies if I do. I'll pass." She ran the second blade along Kano's torso. "Or do I open you up, and your insides will be on the outside. Not a bad way to go...not for you, of course."_

 _Then Kano whimpered even louder as the first blade was resting on his crotch. "Or...do I chop off the twig and berries and leave you to bleed to death?" she mused. "Nah. You might survive that. Oh, that reminds me...I ran into your son while I was in Outworld."_

 _Kano froze._

 _"Chip off the old block, you son. He's dead, by the way," Cassie said. "Mileena killed him. 'Best to take care of a problem before it grows into a much larger one,' she said. I'd have to agree. Kitana as well, as she was the one who gave the order. Spares me the problem of killing him myself. The cycle will end with you. But back to you."_

 _She raised the blade so that it was resting up against his face as she once again put on an Australian accent, mocking Kano. "I can give you a nice smile. Like you did to Sonya's first partner." She then trailed the flat edge of the blade from his jugular. "Ear..." Cassie then moved the blade across his throat, stopping at his carotid. "...to ear." She then dropped the accent. "No, too cliche."_

 _Then an idea came to her. "Oh...I got just the thing for you, One-Eye." She moved behind him, gripping the knives in her hands._

 _Then she stabbed Kano in the back, in the upper part of his back, the blades on either side of his spine. Kano tried to scream, but couldn't. All he could do was jerk around as Cassie brought the blades down to his pants's waistline. She then yanked out the knives and dug her hands inside the wound. With a sickening tear of flesh and bone, Cassie opened the back of Kano's ribcage. She then pulled out two organs. His lungs._

 _"Ah, the blood eagle," Cassie mused as Kano screamed - or at least tried to. "The Vikings say that if you endure the Blood Eagle without screaming then you have earned a place in Valhalla. Looks like you failed. Let's see how long you last with your lungs on the outside, Kano."_

 _He survived for another fifteen minutes, due to his cybernetics. Cassie had kept the time. But she felt no satisfaction in watching Kano die. As he took his final breaths, Cassie had the sawed-off shotgun in her hands and checked to make sure that it was loaded. It was. She opened Kano's mouth, jammed the barrel inside, and pulled the trigger._

 _Cassie had called the cops after she had left. The police would find the bodies within the hour. By that time, Cassie was long gone._

[End Flashback]

Shocked was an understatement for Jacqui. Cassie had just told her in detail about how she tortured and killed Kano. With extreme prejudice. She put the fork into the carton and shoved it away. "Well, thanks. Now I'll never eat again."

Cassie chuckled. "This coming from a woman who held Mavado as I gutted him with his own hookswords. If it's any consolation, I don't do wet-work. Kano and the Black Dragon was the only exception to the rule."

Jacqui began to connect the dots. "So by killing Kano and his lieutenants, that put you on Dad and Aunt Sonya's radar."

Cassie nodded. "And just about everyone else as well."

"I still don't understand how someone like you..."

"...became a mercenary?" Cassie took another bite of her food. "After I returned from Seido, I didn't want to return home. I spent some time with Nightwolf at his place when I overheard a couple of guys talking about the PMC they worked for when I was in town. The thought of being a private contractor interested me, but I was too well-known, especially after the stunt that Sonya pulled."

"That's where Catherine Montilyet came in, right?"

Cassie nodded. "Yeah. You can say that Dad's been rubbing off on me. Catherine Montilyet is nothing more than a face, an act. If my clients found out that I was Cassandra Cage, then the blowback would have been bad."

"Yeah. Your parents aren't exactly well-liked, especially when it comes to Mortal Kombat," Jacqui said.

"Same for Uncle Jax."

There was a comfortable silence between the pair. "Dad and Aunt Sonya have been looking for you ever since you gave them the slip in Seattle," Jacqui said.

"They were looking for the other me," Cassie insisted. "It was Dad who connected the dots with the help of the Lin Kuei. He was the one who convinced me to come and speak with your father."

"You mean to tell me that your Dad succeeded where Aunt Sonya and Dad had failed? How'd he pull that off?"

"He had the Lin Kuei tail me, which explains why Subzero didn't send a snatch squad after me. He's on good terms with Dad, just as Master Hanzo is on good terms with Uncle Jax and Sonya. He found out where I was and visited me. He asked me to come and speak with Uncle Jax."

"And what did Dad have to say?"

"He was surprised to find out that the infamous mercenary who killed Kano and his buddies was in fact his missing niece," Cassie replied. "He and Sonya want me back in the Army. Back in S-F. Even went as far as to offer a commission. Second Lieutenant?"

"What did you say?"

"Told him that I'd think about it. I want to come back to the Army, Jacqui. I really do."

"But that means that you'd have to deal with Aunt Sonya, right?"

Cassie nodded.

"You can't run forever, Cassie," Jacqui said. "Sooner or later, you're gonna slip up."

"...I know. Part of me wants to hear Sonya out, while the other part of me wants to do more than just break her jaw," Cassie confessed. "I always had everything planned out, even when I accepted a contract. I had everything planned down to the letter. Now...I don't know what to do."

"Normally, I would tell you to accept Dad's offer," Jacqui said. "But this is one that you gotta deal with on your own."

"Yeah..." 

* * *

Inside Jax's office...

As Cassie told Jacqui about Kano's demise at her hands, General Briggs, Colonel Blade and Johnny Cage were watching it on Sonya's laptop. Among the files given to Johnny by the Lin Kuei was a flash drive. The Lin Kuei had a mole inside the Black Dragon, and had filmed the entire thing, watching from the shadows.

They watched as Cassie was tortured by Kano via several powerful shots to the ribs. They watched as Cassie escaped from her confines and proceeded to butcher the Black Dragon's soldiers. She was smart as to how she done it, the older kombatants realized. She had killed a Black Dragon, stole his disguise and proceeded to move about the hideout, killing any she came across.

Only when the bodies started to pile up, did Cassie changed tactics.

Guns, knives, even their stash of Semtex of which Cassie used to set a laser tripwire to wipe out the majority of them. Watching Cassie gun her way through the remaining Black Dragon members was like watching a ballet of death. Or to Johnny, a gun kata worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster. Which is ironic, as Sonya made Cassie take ballet as a child.

The Black Dragon had clearly underestimated Cassandra Cage. And they paid for it in spades.

Then came Kano's surviving lieutenants.

They had read the reports, and seen the photos. Now they witnessed their demise. Kira had put up a fight, but had been brutalized by being smacked repeatedly by a retractable baton, singed in the face with a flare, then violently punched in the groin that made Johnny proud, followed by having her skull cracked from the impact of Cassie's pistols. The double shot to the eyes was overkill.

Then there was Kano himself. For twenty minutes, it had been a game of cat-and-mouse. Cassie had almost been caught, but she avoided Kano long enough to lure him into a trap of her own. The end result was Kano taking two bullets to the back, paralyzing him from the waist down. That lead to his torture and death.

The Black Dragon had been behind the kidnapping of Cassie and Jacqui, which led to the Blood Code Incident. This wasn't justice, but rather vengeance. But seeing as how Kano had left his own trail of carnage for nearly 40 years, Sonya wasn't shedding any tears, but even she was apalled by Cassie's sadism as to how she had tortured Kano.

Cassie Cage has developed quite the ruthless streak over the past three years, her killer instinct honed by her travels.

"You know, had it not been for the fact that she's faking like she's insane, she would have made a good actress," Johnny said as Jax paused the video. "And you two say that I'm a bad influence on her."

"You are," both Sonya and Jax replied in unison.

"You sure she's faking?" Jax asked.

"Positive," the actor confirmed. "It's not hard to act bat-shit crazy. On top of that, whenever Sonya was working, I would take Cassie with me to the film studios after school. Judging from the wigs and the minor prosthetics she used to disguise herself, I'd say she'd picked up some tips from the SFX geeks."

"But why the disguises?" Jax asked.

"Because of who we are," Sonya replied softly. "If they found out that Montilyet was our daughter..."

Jax immediately understood. "Oh."

Johnny nodded. "Clever girl," he spoke with pride in his voice. "Damn shame she doesn't want to break into Hollywood and become an actor like her old man. She's got the skills for it."

"Get serious, Cage," sniped Jax.

As the two men bickered, Sonya could not help but to look at the frozen image of Kano, mutilated, the back of his head blown off. She had been chasing Kano for almost twenty years, and her daughter kills him without a single thought. Sonya had to follow the law and bring him in. Cassie didn't and Kano paid for it.

It goes to show the difference between mother and daughter. But Sonya made a vow to get her daughter back.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part Three**

[Flashback]

 _Fort Charles, three years earlier..._

 _Sonya Blade found her daughter inside her dorm room packing, throwing clothes into a duffel bag. The court-martial had been the most humiliating moment in not only her life, but also that of her daughter. The military trial originally was slated in Cassie's favor. But the judges had been replaced at the last moment, replaced with those in Perry's pocket._

 _Even worse, Perry had given her the rank of Brigadier General, with the order to wear it during the trial, or he would see to it that Cassie would be in prison for the next twenty years, and both the Cage and Briggs families disgraced._

 _Somehow, Cassie knew. Cassie knew that she had sold her out._

 _Cassie had been found guilty, and instead of the general discharge promised, she was given a dishonorable discharge, her rank ripped from her uniform, and was given six hours to vacate from the base, lest she was thrown into jail._

 _"Cassie, please, let me explain..." Sonya began, placing one hand on Cassie's shoulder. Instead, Cassie shrugged it off as it had burned her and continued to pack._

 _"'Explain?'" Cassie repeated. "You don't have to explain anything. That rank on your uniform and your silence was all the explanation I need!"_

 _"It wasn't supposed to be like this, Cassie!" Sonya defended. "I was trying to protect you!"_

 _Cassie spun on her mother. Sonya could see the tears in her eyes, yet the eyes themselves were angry. "Protect me?! No! You were covering your own ass, Blade!" Cassie knew that her mother was in the running for the promotion to Brigadier General. "You promised me that you would have my back during the trial!"_

 _Cassie went back to packing. "You promised. You lied." She spun on Sonya again, fist chambered back as if she was going to strike. "Don't...touch me!"_

 _Sonya backed off. "It wasn't supposed to be like this," she said. "You were supposed to be given a general discharge, not a dishonorable one." Cassie stopped packing. Sonya did not notice that her daughter's hand was balling into a fist. "It wasn't part of the deal that I made to keep you out of prison."_

 _Cassie heard enough. Sonya didn't see the blow coming. But she felt it as Cassie's fist impacted her jaw. Cassie had been fast in her rage, and Sonya didn't have time to react. She knew that her jaw was broken._

 _Sonya scrambled away from her daughter, allowing her to finish packing. "Stay the hell away from me, or I'll break more than just your jaw," Cassie threatened._

 _Sonya could do nothing but hold her broken jaw as Cassie finished packing. She grabbed her bag, and stormed past Sonya, never to be seen for three long years._

[End Flashback]

When Sonya's jaw was rewired and after it had healed, she had stormed into Secretary Perry's office, demanding why he had changed the deal in regards to her daughter. Perry was smug, comfortable in his superiority that he had protected his 'investment,' and said so to her face. As for breaking his end of the deal, he merely said that he 'altered the deal to ensure compliance on her end,' and as a reminder to know who was boss.

Unknown to Perry, Sonya had came prepared this time around. Her watch was in fact, a hidden camera, which she used to record the conversation between herself and Perry. This critical piece of evidence was the nail in the coffin one year later, during Perry's criminal trial. It would also lead to Cassie's case being reopened and her daughter cleared of all charges, and her discharged changed. But the coup de grace would be the court martial of the corrupt officers who served as Cassie's judges during her trial, as Sonya took great pleasure in ripping off their ranks before the men had been served their dismissal notices.

But it had been a hollow victory. Cassie was still missing.

Now, three years later, Sonya finds out that not only Cassie has resurfaced, but was also a mercenary. A mercenary who was also the architect behind the Black Dragon's fall.

It was Saturday, but Sonya decided to head into the office, leaving Johnny in bed. He would arrive on the base an hour after her. This time, Johnny left her alone when asked to by her, allowing herself some time to think and reflect.

Sonya could admit that in trying to protect her daughter, she had burned bridges with her. Sonya was trying to make amends, but Cassie was stubborn. Cassie trusted her father without question. The same can't be said for her.

She had done what Johnny had asked, and given Cassie her space. But now, even Sonya had enough of Cassie's attitude towards her. She didn't care that she was a mercenary or that she led the Black Dragon to its demise. In spite of everything, Cassandra Cage was still her daughter.

A quick check with the MPs casing Cassie's temporary residence had confirmed that Cassie was inside the base's workout room with Jax, Jacqui and her father. She thought about having the MPs bring Cassie to her office, but that idea was vetoed almost right away. As much as she hated the idea, she had to confront Cassie. Despite the fact that it would give her the moral high ground, she was not looking forward to this confrontation.

Cassie was definitely her daughter, Sonya realized. Hot-tempered and she can hold on to a grudge. Kano and the Black Dragon could attest to that, had they still lived.

There was no way around it. She had to talk to her daughter, whether said daughter was willing or not. 

* * *

Inside the workout center...

Johnny Cage and Jackson Briggs stood on the sidelines as their respective daughters faced off on the mat, Jacqui wearing a tanktop and combat fatigues, while Cassie was in a blue workout top that showed off her flat stomach, black workout pants with her name emblazoned on the sides in white, and tennis shoes. Rather than her gloves, Cassie's hands were taped, her short hair pulled back in a ponytail.

Despite the abdominal pain, Cassie had an amused look as Jacqui pulled out a pair of armored gauntlets from a workout bag. They were about the length of her forearm, Cassie guessed. "So...trying to be like Uncle Jax?" Cassie asked.

Jacqui slipped the gauntlets on and activated them. "Funny. Sure you're ready for this, Princess?"

Cassie's grin widened. "Sure as your name's 'Bitch-Face.'"

"See, now I gotta hurt ya, Cage," Jacqui replied.

The two girls assumed a fighting stance; Jacqui in her standard kickboxer's stance, while Cassie moved into a basic boxing stance.

It wasn't like her usual stance, Jax and Johnny realized, but something basic. Then again, Cassie had proven to be unpredictable.

As Jacqui inched closer, Cassie didn't move. Then she lowered her fists, that annoying smile still on her face.

Jacqui fired off a punch, one which Cassie calmly dodged. This was followed by Cassie blocking and dodging several more punched, of which Cassie then responded by throwing several jabs, followed by a forearm which Jacqui blocked. Cassie hopped back to avoid the uppercut from the female Briggs' gauntlet-powered fist, but stumbled back several steps from a powerful kick to the side.

"First blood goes to you, Briggs," Cassie noted.

Jacqui smirked and moved in. This time, Cassie went on the offensive, forcing Jacqui to block and parry her attacks. Cassie knew that Jacqui was tough. She was the former kickboxing champion in the Junior Olympics. She could have participated in this year's Clympics, but chose officer's school instead.

"Still using one style," Cassie said. "I told you once before, Briggs...you don't have Uncle Jax's arms..." Cassie then went into the splits to avoid the roundhouse to the head. As Jacqui spun around, Cassie had already recovered, and was already in the air, the green after-images making clear of Cassie's next move.

Both feet were planted into Jacqui's chest, knocking her on her ass.

"...but I got the Shadow Kick," Cassie finished as she performed a kip-up, landing on her feet.

"More like Shadow Dropkick," Jax muttered.

Jacqui had been on the receiving end of the Shadow Kick twice in the past; the first from Cassie and the second from her dad whilst under the Blood Code. Both times it had hurt like bloody blazes. Now, Cassie had used both feet this time around and it sure as hell stung.

Jacqui got back to her feet. "You know, we don't have to fight. We could do each other's hair," Cassie noted.

"Wouldn't be as fun, Little Miss Mercenary," Jacqui replied, grinning back. Then her expression fell as she notice the newcomer entering the workout room. "Uh-oh..."

"Cassie."

Almost immediately, Cassie's good mood soured upon hearing Sonya's voice. Jacqui took that moment to make herself scare by moving to the sidelines, where she stood in between her and Cassie's dad.

Johnny recognized the look in her eyes, as did Jax. Gone was the hesitant Sonya from yesterday. This was Sonya Blade, one of Raiden's chosen, survivor of two inter-realm wars, and all-around hardass. The woman that Johnny fell in love with.

"This isn't gonna end well," Johnny muttered to Jax.

"For once, this one agrees," Jax muttered back.

Cassie turned around, as Sonya marched towards her with a purpose. "What do you want now, Sonya?" she asked, arms folded.

"We need to talk," Sonya replied.

"Too bad. I got nothing to say to you," Cassie shot back.

"I don't want you to talk. I want you to lock it up, and listen."

"Even worse. I'm not in a listening mood either. Looks like it's not your day, Sonya," her estranged daughter said and brushed past her. At least she tried.

"Cassandra Carlton Cage!"

Johnny, Jax and Jacqui winced. Sonya wasn't in the mood for Cassie's bullshit. They knew this because the blonde colonel addressed Cassie using her full name. Usually when Sonya did that, she was pissed at the offending party. Usually it was Johnny.

Cassie spun around. From the intense, angry look on her face, she was not in the mood for Sonya's bullshit either. Part of her wanted to listen to what Sonya had to say, but her volatile emotions had overrode her better judgement. "What now?! Haven't you done enough damage to my life?!"

"I was trying to protect you!"

"'Protect me?!' You sold me out for a goddamned promotion! No price was high enough for your goddamned ambition! Not even me! I was kicked out of the Army! You yourself signed the order!"

"I didn't want the promotion! Perry forced it upon me when I had to choose between you and our family! He would have destroyed all of us, everything we've worked for! I had no choice!"

"Everyone has a choice, Sonya," Cassie said in a cold tone. "You chose the wrong one."

"You're right. I did choose the wrong one as an officer. I chose it as a mother."

"It was a bad call," Cassie shot back. "Why can't you just leave me alone? What do you want from me?"

Sonya calmed down. "I want you back...home. With your family. With me. I want to be forgiven...more than anything."

Cassie's voice was even colder than it was the previous day. "That's not going to happen, Sonya. Not now. Not ever."

It was as if she had been stabbed in the stomach. Sonya was taken aback by Cassie's cruel words. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Cassandra," she said in a subdued tone. She turned around and was about to walk away when Cassie stopped her.

"Sonya."

Sonya stopped in mid-step. But she did not turn around.

"You want me to stay? You want me in S-F?" Cassie asked.

"Yes. I do."

"Prove it, Colonel," Cassie said, one hand slowly balling into a fist. "You and me. Right here, right now."

From the sidelines, Jax and Jacqui looked at Cassie as if she had lost her mind. Cassie was challenging Sonya to a fight. Johnny wasn't surprised. He knew it would come to this. He just didn't know just how violent this was going to get.

Sonya slowly spun around. Cassie was challenging her to a fight? "Excuse me?"

"You heard me, Sonya," Cassie replied. "Fight me. Right now. I win, I leave. You win, I stay."

After staring down her daughter, Sonya gave her answer. "No. I'm not fighting you Cass..."

 **WHAM.**

The right cross to the side of the face was one that Sonya did not see coming. But she felt it, and it was indeed painful, and it knocked her down, her cap flying off her head. At least she didn't punch the left side of her jaw, which is what Cassie had broken the last time.

"I wasn't asking, Sonya," Cassie said. "I'm telling you."

Sonya saw the intensity in her daughter's eyes as she spat the blood from her mouth. They were her eyes, full of fire, determination...and rage. They were her eyes, Sonya realized. Despite having the brown coloring of her father, Cassie had her eyes.

"We have a score to settle," Cassie said, stalking forward, while Sonya was scrambling backwards. "And you better come at me with the intent to kill. Cause if you don't, then I will kill you."

With a yell, Cassie lunged, foot raised to stomp Sonya's skull in. Sonya rolled out of the way and was back on her feet as the foot came down where her head was moments earlier. Sonya scrambled to her feet, barely able to swat aside a front snap kick from her daughter, followed by several punches to the face in rapid succession. Cassie blocked Sonya's own fist to the face, followed by the elbow to her midsection.

Sonya then blocked another hard punch aimed at her face, and countered with a strike of her own. Cassie sidestepped, then ducked to avoid Sonya's backhand. When Cassie threw another punch, Sonya grabbed the arm and twisted it behind her daughter's back. Acting by reflex, Cassie performed a vertical axe kick, catching Sonya in the face, and forcing Sonya to break the hold.

Sonya raised one leg up to avoid the low kick to her shin. Then she lashed out, the side kick catching Cassie in the same spot that Jacqui had done earlier. Now Sonya was fighting back, bringing over thirty years' experience of martial arts to the forefront. If Cassie wanted a fight, then she would give her one, Sonya concluded.

A quick jab from Cassie caused Sonya to stagger, and she was forced to backpedal from Cassie's punches. Sonya quickly moved within Cassie's defenses, and threw her to the ground. Cassie was back on her feet, but went low and drove her elbow into the back of Sonya's leg. The blonde colonel cried out and fell to one knee. Cassie was knocked back when Sonya kicked her square in the chest.

Both women quickly got back to a vertical base, and were engaged in a fierce battle of close-quarters-kombat, with neither gaining a clear advantage. Both Johnny and Sonya had trained Cassie to become dangerous. It had almost came back to haunt them during the Blood Code event, and now, it was coming back to haunt Sonya in spades. With Kano's demise, Sonya knew that Cassie was not only even more dangerous, but also deadly.

Cassie was fast, and unpredictable. One of the fighting styles that Sonya had taught Cassie was Taekwondo, the same style Sonya herself used, combined with her military training. Cassie had spent time in South Korea, learning from the masters, making her style even more dangerous.

But Cassie also knew Karate, which was her father's style. And in the years she was out, she had picked up some new tricks.

However, so did Sonya.

Cassie fired off another punch...

...only for Sonya to pull out a small line of wire from her wrist gauntlet and wrap it around Cassie's wrist. Cassie found herself being flung to the ground, where she landed hard on her side. That made the abdominal pain even worse. Sonya reached down and grabbed a handful of Cassie's hair, pulling her back to her feet. But Sonya was forced to release Cassie when she tried to backhand her.

After dodging several of Sonya's swings, Cassie nailed her in a punch to the torso. Sonya ducked under another of Cassie's wild swing, and blocked another snap kick from her daughter, who responded by blocking Sonya's own kick to the head. Sonya ducked under Cassie's roundhouse kick, but was caught by the right cross to the face. That left Sonya open for a barrage of kicks; the first to her stomach, the second to her back, the third right in her face, with the final kick knocking Sonya to the ground.

"Get up, Blade!" Cassie snarled. "We're not done yet!"

Sonya scrambled to her feet and aimed her gauntlet at her daughter, and fired a ball of pink energy. Cassie countered the move with one that everyone recognized - the Green Fireball. Johnny's time in Seido had made him even more powerful. Cassie's time in Seido made her even more dangerous, as Hotaru helped her unlock her superpowered abilities that came with being descended from her father's warrior bloodline.

Both energies collided, cancelling the other out. But before Sonya could react, Cassie fired off a second Green Fireball, forcing Sonya to raise her hands to block the move. It wasn't as strong as her husband's but it did sting...not to mention it also rendered her wrist gauntlets useless.

Cassie's fist bounced off Sonya's skull, forcing her back. That was followed by a quick backhand, and a double power punch to the sternum. The hard kick to the sternum had slammed Sonya into a wall. When Cassie tried to kick her head off, Sonya rolled out of the way, reversing their positions.

But Cassie was just as fast still. She blocked her mother's own fist to the face and landed several more blows to the torso, followed by an elbow to the face. Sonya swung again, but Cassie went low spinning so that her back was towards Sonya. She then elbowed the blonde colonel in the stomach and snapped her own head back, headbutting Sonya in the face, causing the older woman to stagger backwards.

Cassie was back on her feet, and threw two more punches, of which Sonya parried, then countered with an elbow, of which Cassie ducked under. Sonya spun around but Cassie closed in the distance, and grabbed her, slamming her head into the wall. As Sonya was stunned, Cassie went on the offensive. Hard elbow to the face, followed by another quick backhand-double power punch combination. Sonya shook out the cobwebs and tried for a roundhouse. Cassie ducked under it and was in the air, performing a leaping spinning back kick with her left leg.

Predictably, Sonya ducked under the attack.

But as she was rising, and while Cassie was falling, the latter's right leg lashed out, smashing Sonya in the face, knocking her down.

Cassie landed on her back, but quickly flipped to her feet. However, as she rushed in, Sonya's leg lashed out, striking behind Cassie's kneecaps, causing her to stumble. That gave Sonya an opening. She hopped to her feet, dove into a handstand, and ensnared Cassie with her legs.

Cassie found herself being flung across the mat. The pain in her abdomen was starting to become unbearable, but she ignored it. There was no way in hell that Sonya was going to win. Not this time.

As the fight between the two intensified, Jax and Jacqui were looking worried, while Johnny was concerned. "Should we stop them?" Jacqui asked.

"No."

Jax and Jacqui looked at the action star as if he had lost his mind.

"They won't sit down and talk it over," Johnny said, arms folded. "They have too much pride in themselves for that. Not even I could get those two in a room together. This is the only way."

"They're gonna kill each other, with the way things are going!" Jacqui hissed, remembering what Cassie had said before the match started.

"Cassie may be many things, but she won't kill Sonya," Johnny defended. "Beating her within an inch of her life? Most definitely."

For Sonya, it was the longest three minutes of her life. Cassie had nailed her with several good shots, but Sonya fought back.

It was as if she was fighting Cassie whilst under the Blood Code. While Liu dealt with Raiden and Kitana and Mileena fought Reiko, it had been Sonya who squared off against Cassie, while Jax fought his daughter. Cassie had no qualms about killing her mother, and seeing how Cassie had killed Kano, Sonya had to assume that Cassie was a threat. The leaping axe kick which had dislocated her shoulder proven that.

Cassie decided to end the match, as it was clearly in her favor. She faked her mother out as if she was going to throw another fireball. Sonya took the bait, and jumped. This time, however, Cassie jumped at a 45-degree angle, her body coated with the green energy, her foot extended outward.

The blow caught Sonya in the jaw and she was sent falling back to the mat. This time, however, Cassie wasn't going to let her get back up. She jumped on Sonya, pinning her to the ground. Blow after blow rained down on Sonya, curtesy of Cassie's fists, rocking her head to the side with each swing.

"STOP! I YIELD!"

Cassie's fist stopped short of caving in her mother's nose.

"I yield," Sonya whispered, her body sore, tears in her eyes. "I give up. You win."

The match was over. Cassie had won.

Cassie released Sonya and stood at her full height, looking down at the fallen colonel. Then Cassie fell to one knee, coughing blood, some of it splattering on Sonya before vomiting violently. Then she keeled over.

"Oh, God, Cassie!" Sonya shouted, horrified.

Johnny was there in an instant. Torn between checking on his wife and daughter, Sonya made the decision for him. "I'll be fine. Help her!"

Johnny picked up the wounded Cassie. A small trail of blood ran from her lip down to her chin. "Daddy...I don't feel so good," Cassie moaned out, right before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she slipped into unconsciousness.

"Shit. She's burning up!" Johnny cursed. He bolted out of the workout room, his daughter in his arms. 

* * *

El Toro Medical Center, minutes later...

"How is she?" Johnny asked the doctor.

"Your daughter is stabilized for the time being," the base doctor replied. "Her appendix had burst during the fight with Colonel Blade, but it had been ruptured prior to that. Your daughter is suffering from an extreme case of peritonitis, but it was fortunate that you got her here in time."

Johnny nodded. He had literally ran with his ailing daughter in his arms to the hospital, which was two blocks from the workout center.

"We've managed to drain the pus from her abdomen and put her on our strongest antibiotics and painkillers," the doctor continued. "Had you not reacted as fast as you did, she would have died."

"How long are we talking?" Jax asked, having left Sonya and overhearing Cassie's diagnosis. "How long will she be out?"

"For Miss Cage, I'd give her a month in recovery, two just to be safe, General."

Jax nodded. "Okay. I want her moved to a private room. No one is to disturb he unless its her parents, Lieutenant Briggs, or myself."

"How's Sonya?" Johnny asked.

"Broken nose, dislocated shoulder, and a concussion," Jax replied. "Jacqui's with her. She's distraught over what she had did."

"All right. Take me to her." 

* * *

In an examination room, Sonya Blade was catatonic. Her blank stare could easily be mistaken for the thousand-yard-stare. Her body felt numb, and it wasn't from the painkillers she had taken so that her arm could be popped back into its socket.

"How is she?" Jacqui asked as Jax and Johnny entered the room.

"Her appendix had burst during the fight," Johnny explained. "But it had been ruptured before the fight with Sonya."

"She was complaining about pain in her side. Said it was her ribs," Jacqui said.

"She's suffering from peritonitis, but I managed to get her here in time," Johnny reported. "Doc's got her doped up on enough antibiotics and painkillers to drop a rhino. She's gonna be out for a month. She'll live. She's a Cage. She's been through worse."

"She wanted the fight..."

Jax, Johnny and Jacqui turned to Sonya.

"She wanted the fight. I didn't know. How was I supposed to know. I hurt my daughter. I hurt my baby..." she sobbed, breaking down.

Johnny was by her side, holding her. "Unless you were the one who cracked her ribs beforehand or ruptured her appendix, you're blameless."

"But she's hurt, Johnny. She's hurt because of me," Sonya whispered. "Cassie's hurt because of me..."

"She'll be okay, Sonya," her husband whispered.

"Take me to her, Johnny. Please." 

* * *

In the hospital, there were several private rooms designed to either give the patient privacy, or to place them under heavy guard.

Fortunately, Cassie Cage was in the former category.

Per to Jax's orders, she was moved into a private hospital room, located on the hospital's top floor. A room with a single bed, several chairs, and a bathroom. In the bed, on her back, was Cassie herself, hands at her sides, her skin pale, her ribs bandaged, her eye blackened and swollen.

No one was allowed to enter her room. But some rules did not apply to those who were immortal.

Such is the case of Raiden, the God of Lightning and Thunder, Protector of Earthrealm.

The thunder god emerged from an arc of lightning, facing the window. He turned around, and looked upon Cassie's unconscious form on the bed, battered and bruised from the fight with her mother. For a long moment, he regarded the daughter of his chosen champion and his wife. Raiden had witnessed the fight between Cassie and Sonya from the Sky Temple alongside Fujin, and decided to intervene.

Sonya held a high degree of animosity towards him in the aftermath of the Blood Code Incident, even going as far as to say that Earthrealm would be better off without Raiden as protector. Raiden would probably had done the same thing had he been in Sonya's place. After all, he too, succumbed to the Blood Code and was instrumental in their capture.

As for Liu and Hanzo, they looked at him as if he was a bug to be stepped on. Raiden had made many mistakes in the days following the final Mortal Kombat tournament over 20 years earlier. Mistakes which led to several deaths, and both Kitana and Liu's resentment.

While he could do nothing with Liu, as he was in Outworld, and Scorpion refused to speak to him, maybe he could try and repair some of the damage that he had inadvertently caused in the past. Starting with Cassandra Cage.

He was so caught up in his reverie that he did not hear the door open. But he did hear Sonya's voice. Earlier, it had been full of remorse. Now, there was nothing but anger.

"Raiden?! What the hell are you doing here?!"

Raiden looked up. Aside from a now-angry Sonya Blade, Johnny stood on her left, while Jax and Jacqui stood on her right. Sonya had been crying, as her eyes were red and puffy, but still showed resentment. Raiden said nothing as he placed one hand on Cassie's head, the other on her torso. Blue lightning arched from his body, traveled down his arms and into his hands, where it had spread throughout Cassie's body. The bruises on Cassie's body began to fade, her battered body being repaired, the color returning to her flesh.

He was healing her, Sonya and the others realized.

When Raiden was finished, Cassie looked as if she had not went pound-for-pound with her mother in a brutal fight. Then, without a word of farewell, he teleported out of the room in an arc of lightning.

"Guess you're not the only one trying to make amends," Johnny said.

Sonya said nothing. She instead walked over to her daughter, still unconscious, and gently stroked her hair. She did not say the words out loud, but rather, in her mind.

'Thank you.' 

* * *

Three days had passed since the fight, and Cassie was still out like a light.

It was to be expected, as Johnny himself slept like a rock for three days after Raiden healed him of his mortal injuries twenty years earlier. A meditative sleep, Johnny explained. Since then, Johnny, Jacqui, and Sonya had kept vigil at her side.

The doctors were baffled. Just hours earlier, Cassie had near-life threatening injuries, and now, her recovery was nothing short of miraculous, but was still out cold.

When asked about it, Jax replied that it was 'classified,' but the doctors decided to keep her in the hospital for observation regardless. 

* * *

Cassie was dreaming.

She was dreaming about the Blood Code Incident, in which Liu had led his own team to Shang Tsung's Island. She was dreaming about the final moments which led to Havik's demise.

[End Flashback]

 _Shang Tsung's Island, Shang Tsung's Throne Room._

 _Reiko was dead. His body was slumped on Shang's throne, the head obliterated from repeated shots from Shao Kahn's Wrath Hammer, wielded by Kitana and Mileena. Skarlet was dead as well, reduced to a mass of charred blood due to the hellfire Scorpion wielded. Raiden had been beaten within an inch of his life by Liu Kang, and was purged of the Blood Code._

 _Only Havik remained, and he was getting the crap beaten out of him by Cassie and Jacqui's respective parents. The Cleric of Chaos was knocked on his ass, thanks to Sonya. This was after she had broken his leg, crippling him._

 _"I remember you saying that you tortured Cassie and Jacqui," Sonya hissed. "That you said they called out for us as you tortured them. Then you had them corrupted under that damned Blood Code!"_

 _Johnny turned to his wife. "He said that?" he asked, pointing to Havik. When Sonya nodded, the green shadow energy enveloped him slowly turned to red. "He's past getting Caged. He's a dead man."_

 _"Seconded," Jax said._

 _Havik raised one hand in a placating gesture. "Wait! Wait! Perhaps I was out of line when I said that, okay? I was just joking! I'd never hurt a hair on their precious heads!"_

 _Sonya turned to Cassie and Jacqui. "Did he torture the both of you?"_

 _The girls nodded, glaring at the doomed cleric._

 _"Please...spare me," Havik pleaded. "I'm a Cleric of Chaos. It's what I do. I spread disorder and anarchy. People get hurt in the process. It's all a matter of Chaos."_

 _"You made it personal when you involved my daughter and my niece," Sonya rebuked._

 _"Okay...maybe I didn't think this through when I gave the order to kidnap Cassie and Jacqui." Now his back was to the wall. "Let me go, please? I'll return to the Realm of Chaos. You'll never see me again."_

 _"No." Kitana then stepped in between the Earthrealmers, stained with Reiko's blood. "You used their children as bait so you can make Reiko into a God. You dare to use their parents' blood – and mine – for the task. As Kahnum of Outworld, do I order your execution. Sentence to be carried out immediately."_

 _She turned to Johnny and the others. "He's all yours."_

 _Jax was ready to get his pound of flesh from Havik when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Mileena standing behind him. In her hand, was the Wrath Hammer, the head smeared with Reiko's blood, which she now shoved into Jax's hands._

 _"Um...thanks?" Jax said, puzzled._

 _That changed when Mileena nodded her head in Havik's direction, and gave the bionic-armed man a feral grin. Even with her new lips, it was scary._

 _Jax nodded in understanding. "Oh. Thanks."_

 _Havik's screams echoed throughout the throne room as the trio of pissed-off parents played Whack-A-Cleric with Havik's head. The Blood Code revived him repeatedly as Sonya, Jax and Johnny took turns in caving Havik's head in with the oversized hammer. Then Cassie and Jacqui joined in the execution of the architect of the Blood Code._

 _Fifteen minutes, over twenty resurrections, and about three dozen hammer strikes to the skull later, Havik was dead._

 _With Havik dead, Mileena decided to make her exit. But Kitana calling out her name stopped her. She turned and faced the one she once thought was her sister._

 _"What will you do now?" Kitana asked as she approached the hybrid. "Where will you go?"_

 _"I have no army," Mileena replied. "Baraka is dead, as Reiko saw to that by exposing him to the Blood Code. I have no reason to fight you anymore. You are Kahunum of Outworld."_

 _"You're right. I am Kahnum. And just as I have the power to mete out justice, I can do the same when it comes to showing mercy. You may be a construct born from the Flesh Pits, but you do have royal blood in your veins. My blood."_

 _"Are you offering me mercy?" Mileena asked, obviously insulted._

 _"No. I'm offering you amnesty. Recognize me as Empress of Outworld, and I will pardon you. Not only that, but will I make you Captain of the Guard, and I will recognize you not as my clone, but as my sister, and a Princess of Outworld. Despite how you were created, you are the closest thing I have as family." She extended her hands. "Will you accept my terms?"_

 _Mileena looked at Kitana's extended hands. Then back at the woman herself, as if she was considerinf the offer. She then took her hand, palm facing upward, and with one clawed fingernail, slid it across her palm. A blood oath. "I, Mileena, do recognize you as Empress of Outworld. I will raise arms in your defense. This, I vow with my blood."_

 _She accepted Kitana's strip of cloth she had tore off from her pants, allowing Mileena to wrap the wound with it. Only then, did Mileena take Kitana's hands into her own._

 _Kitana smiled. Mileena returned the gesture. Despite the teeth in her sides, the smile was genuine. "Sister," Mileena said._

 _"Sister," Kitana responded, embracing the hybrid. Mileena returned the embrace._

[End Flashback]

Groaning, Cassie woke up. She was still in the hospital bed, having been brought there by her father. Speaking of her father, he was in a chair, sleeping uncomfortably, arms folded. Sonya was nowhere in sight.

In her arrogance in fighting her mother, she had forgotten about her previous injuries, the ones that she had piled up in her years as a mercenary. The fight with Sonya had been the breaking point, and she paid for it. The doctors had told her that she needed to rest. But she was always on the move, trying to stay one step ahead of the various snatch squads out to get her.

But now, she felt no pain. All she felt was a slight tingling, electric, sensation. She suspected that it was Raiden who had healed her injuries. But she still felt drained, both physically and emotionally. She had won the match against Sonya.

So why does she still feel like crap?

The answer then came to her. She had treated her own mother like crap when all she wanted was for her to listen. Cassie had thought that Sonya had burned bridges with her, but in truth, Cassie had done that on her own.

The door to the room began to open. Almost by reflex, Cassie turned on her side, her back facing the door.

Sonya entered the room. Not wanting to disturb Johnny, she silently closed the door behind her. Walking on padded feet to the bed, she pulled up a chair and sat down. Sonya knew that Cassie was awake. When you raise a child, you tend to learn their habits. Many a time while growing up, Cassie faked to be sleep hours past her bedtime, and Sonya had reprimanded her for that.

She had fallen asleep in her office, and had a nightmare that she had killed Cassie during the match. Then Quan Chi had claimed her soul, transforming her into a revanant.

"I have found a new family," the undead Cassie said as she flanked Sindel and Stryker. "We are bonded in death. Just as you will be soon."

Then, Cassie had beaten Sonya to near-death. Then, she snapped Sonya's neck, the last thing Sonya heard was Quan Chi's laughter in her ears.

Sonya had woken up in a cold sweat. She thought she had broken several traffic laws in trying to get to the hospital. But once she got there, she was relieved to see that Cassie was still alive.

After a moment, she began to speak.

"It was never my intention to hurt you. I was trying to protect you. When Secretary Perry found out that it had been you who had assaulted his son, I was summoned to his office. I planned on supporting you throughout your court-martial. But he threatened me, saying that he would ruin not only you, but your father, Jax, Jacqui and myself. He made me choose between their careers and you spending 20 years in military prison, or accept his demands. Perry had done it before, ruining people and destroying families, even driving some of them to suicide. Plenty of times, and he was more than willing to do it again."

"..." Cassie was silent.

"I wanted to retire as General, but not like this. He pulled some strings to give me the rank, a silent reminder of how he owned me," Sonya said, wiping away a tear. "I saw the rank as a badge of shame. You were supposed to get a general discharge. But he lied. He used his influence to get you dishonorably discharged. The judges at your trial were in his pockets."

Sonya looked at Johnny, who was still fast asleep. "Your father...I had never seen him so angry in his entire life. Not even when he was fighting Shinnok. He kicked me out of the house. It was only while I was in rehab for my drinking did I tell him the truth. He wanted to kill Perry himself, and damn the consequences. The last time I saw him so angry was during the Blood Code."

Johnny coughed, and mumbled something in his sleep, but did not wake up.

"When Perry's son was arrested and tried for raping a federal agent, Johnny convinced me to act. When I confronted Perry after my jaw healed, I had a hidden camera on my person. He incriminated himself by gloating over how he ensured my compliance by changing your discharge, and if I said anything, then our family would pay the price. As for the press conference, it was your father's idea. As it turned out, Perry was already being investigated for corruption charges. The conference led to a closed-door meeting with the Joint Chiefs. I managed to get your case reopened, and your conviction purged. I also asked that I was to be demoted back to Colonel. I'll probably retire with the rank, but I earned it. In the end, justice was served. Perry's son was sent to military prison for the rest of his life, and his father is serving 30 years in federal prison. The men who had ordered your discharge were given their dismissal papers."

Sonya sighed. "I was hard on you when you were growing up. I missed out on your growing up because of my job. I admit that." Sonya looked at Johnny. "Your father could have divorced me because of my job, but he has the patience of a saint when he is not pissing me off. You won the match, so there's nothing that is holding you here. I know I wasn't 'Mom of the Year...' but I do care, even if I rarely show it. In spite of everything, I'm proud of you, Cassandra. Always has been, and I always will. For what it's worth...I'm sorry."

Having said her piece, Sonya stood up and left, leaving Cassie alone with her thoughts. 

* * *

When Johnny woke up the following morning, Cassie was gone.

She had snuck out of the hospital and made it back to where she had been staying, and packed her belongings. Then she took his car and drove off the base. When Johnny and Sonya raced back to their home in Venice Beach, Cassie's car was missing.

Once again, Cassandra Cage was in the wind. 

* * *

Special Forces Training and Research Base, El Toro - the following day.

Sonya Blade had spent the previous day in Cassie's old bedroom, crying her eyes out. All Johnny could do was console and support her. Now, she had a job to do. Colonel Blade was in uniform, her billed cap with the Special Forces insignia covering her eyes, her arms folded. She had buried her emotions back down after spending most of the day a complete wreck.

She and Johnny had arrived together, as Jax requested their presence on the base. With Cassie's departure - and refusal - Jax had to fill in the spot that she was supposed to take. Aside from Jacqui, Hanzo Hasahi had requested that his student, Takeda Takahashi - Kenshi's son - join their team, while the Shaolin sent their own representative: Kung Jin, of the famous Kung family, his cousin being the late Kung Lao.

They would arrive on the base by the end of the month.

Jax Briggs was seated behind his desk, going over some papers when Sonya and Johnny entered his office, closing the door behind them. "Sonya. Cage. You made it. Good." He looked at Sonya. "How you're holding up?"

"I'll manage," Sonya replied. Her shoulders then slumped, the facade broken. "I told her everything, Jax. I told her everything, and she left."

Behind them, the door opened. Almost by reflex, Johnny turned his head to see who had came in. He assumed that it was Jacqui, but he was only partially right. "Uh...I wouldn't be so sure of that, babe," he said.

Sonya was about to reprimand her husband for using that particular term of endearment when she saw him looking at something. When she followed his line of sight, her eyes widened in shock.

Standing next to Jacqueline Briggs, was Cassandra Cage. While Jacqui was still in uniform, Cassie was in her full disguise as Catherine Montilyet; the black business suit and red blouse, and the heels which made her taller than her mother. The oversized sunglasses and wig she had on earlier was gone, revealing her short blonde hair.

"I'd like to introduce to you our fourth member," Jax said, a smile on his face.

Sonya saw that while Cassie no longer looked at her with the intense hatred from the past couple of days, but her look was guarded. For the moment, Cassie ignored her parents and stood before Jax.

"I take it that you took care of everything?" Jax asked as Jacqui stepped to the side.

"It's done," Cassie replied.

Jax turned to the shocked couple. "I brought the both of you here to act as witnesses when she takes her officer's oath. Forgive me, but this is going to be quick." He stood up. "Cassandra Cage, attention on deck!"

Cassie snapped to attention; standing rigid as a board, hands at her sides, the fingers curled, feet at a perfect 45-degree angle.

"Raise your right hand," Jax ordered. Cassie complied, and raised her hand. "Do you, Cassandra Carlton Cage, solemnly swear that you will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that you will bear true faith and allegiance of the same; and that you take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that you will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of which you are about to enter?"

"I swear, as an office of the United States military," Cassie replied calmly.

"Congratulations, Lieutenant Cage," Jax said, smiling. "At ease." Cassie relaxed as Jax turned to Johnny and Sonya. "She's free until tomorrow. Until then, you're dismissed."

* * *

While Jacqui ran off to perform an errand, Johnny and Sonya had taken Cassie back to Sonya's office. Johnny sat on the couch, while Sonya faced her daughter, who still looked cautious. Cautious, mixed with...regret?

Sonya swallowed audibly. "I thought you left," she said.

"I was tempted to," Cassie replied. "Almost did."

"What made you change your mind?" Sonya asked.

"I had...a lot of time to think about what you said. The truth, I mean, about why you did what you did, and what you have done to clear my name," Cassie said. "I thought that you did what you did just to cover your own ass. And Dad said that you've been trying to make amends, not to mention that you've been suffering as much as I have. Only difference was that I thought I was making a career out of being a merc, but I was running from my own past."

Cassie cleared her throat before continuing. "The morning I left, I went back to the house. Jacqui was there. I had her call Uncle Jax."

[Flashback]

 _Jacqui Briggs was jarred awake from her place on the couch. She looked up and saw Cassie, in hospital scrubs and a doctor's coat, close the door behind her. "Cassie?"_

 _"You're still here?" Cassie said._

 _"Yeah. Dad said I can stay here." She then frowned. "You snuck out of the hospital, didn't you?"_

 _"Yeah. I did."_

 _"So you plan on running again?" Jacqui asked, arms folded._

 _"Shut up, Briggs, and get your dad ont the phone," Cassie ordered._

 _"What?"_

 _"Jacqui. Phone. Uncle Jax. Now."_

 _Jacqui complied. Watching Cassie, she picked up her phone, scrolled through the contacts, and found her father's number. After several rings, Jax's sleepy voice came on the other end through the speaker. "Jacqui? It's six in the morning. What is it?"_

 _"Uncle Jax?"_

 _"Cassie? You're awake? Does your parents know?"_

 _"No. Dad was still asleep when I left. Sonya doesn't know either." Before Jax could say anything, Cassie had cut him off. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but...is the offer still on the table?"_

 _Jacqui's eyes widened, as she knew what Cassie was talking about._

 _That single question had brought what Jax was going to say to a halt. He quickly recovered. "You plan on staying, Cass?"_

 _"Yeah. Is the commission still available?"_

 _"It is," Jax confirmed._

 _Cassie took a deep breath. Once she says the following words, then there would be no going back. "I accept the deal," she said. "On one condition."_

 _"Name it."_

 _"Twelve hours. Give me 12 hours to settle all affairs as Montilyet. Close out a couple of accounts, pay off my handler, pick up a couple of packages, that sort of thing."_

 _"How do I know that you're not going to try and run?"_

 _"I said that I accepted the commission, Uncle Jax. But if you want a show of faith on my end, I'll take Jacqui with me."_

 _Jacqui looked at her friend. "What?"_

 _"You heard her, Jacqui," her father seconded. "Accompany Cassie. You have twelve hours." With that, the call ended._

[End Flashback]

"I had two bank accounts as Catherine Montilyet," Cassie explained. "I had to fly to New York to close the both of them out. One of the checks I made out to my handler in San Francisco."

[Cut to a scene in which Lynn is laughing her ass off at the cashier's check sent to her via FedEx. The check is worth $15 million. Aside from the check, there is a note from Cassie. The note reads, **Your services are no longer required. I believe the severance pay is most generous. Spread the word. Montilyet is now retired. Good luck. Cassie**.]

"So Catherine Montilyet...?" Johnny prodded.

"Officially retired and living a peaceful life in Montreal under an alias," confirmed Cassie.

Sonya then asked the question that she was dreading. But she had to know. "So where do I stand with you? Do you still hate me?"

"I never hated you, Sonya. I was just...angry. Liu tried to help me in trying to control my emotions. It just boiled over."

Good. That means there was hope. Sonya then asked, "Does this mean that I'm forgiven?"

Cassie chose her words carefully. "You screwed up big time, Sonya."

"...I know."

"But I wasn't any better," admitted Cassie. "Kitana once told me that no one is beyond redemption. Not even you...or me. If she was able to forgive Mileena...then yeah. I suppose I can forgive you." Cassie then raised a hand, silencing Sonya's reply. "But...that does not mean you're off the hook completely. You still need to earn back my trust, both as a C.O., and as a parent."

The blonde colonel sighed. "I know. I thought I was protecting you from Perry, but I failed. I failed as a mother and as your commanding officer. Getting your dad's trust back was easy. I knew that you would be much harder. You can hold a grudge, like me. Even worse than me in most cases. The fight we had showed that."

"Goes to show that I am your daughter," Cassie replied. "Since we're clearing the air, I was hoping that you would forgive me as well."

Sonya looked up. "For what?" she asked, puzzled.

"...a lot of things. Mainly for being such a hothead. For not listening to you when you tried to explain why you did it. And for breaking your jaw."

Sonya nodded. "Apology accepted."

There was a silence between the two. "So...where does that leave us?" Cassie asked.

Sonya thought for a moment before replying. "I guess we'll take a page out of your father's playbook and improvise. We'll make it up as we go along."

Cassie nodded. "You're right. We do have a lot of catching up to do, Sonya."

"About that...on the clock, I'm Colonel Blade. Off the clock...I was hoping you would start calling me Mom again." She extended her hand. "Deal, Lieutenant?"

Cassie didn't shake her mother's hand. She instead pulled her into an embrace. "Deal, Colonel."

Sonya was shocked at first. But then she slowly returned the embrace, holding her daughter, truly holding her for the first time in years.

Johnny, in the meantime, pulled out his smartphone, selected the camera app, and after making sure that the flash was off, snapped a picture of his wife and daughter, making sure that the camera was on silent, so they could not hear the click. Jax and Jacqui would definitely want to see this later on after Cassie gets settled in.

The actor and patriarch of the Cage family stood up and walked over to his wife and daughter. Cassie released her mother and gave her father a hug as well. Johnny returned the hug, a huge smile on his face.

"Thank you for not giving up on me," Cassie whispered.

"Wouldn't be much of a dad if I didn't," Johnny replied.

Sonya, in the meantime, took Johnny's smartphone and snapped a picture on it. For the second time within a week, tears began to fall from her face. Only this time, these tears were one of joy.

* * *

South Lake Tahoe, California - two days later...

For the second time in a week, Cassie found herself back at the lakehouse where he father had found her. Only this time, rather than hiding out, she was there with family and friends. A party, welcoming her back home and celebrating her return to the army and commission.

It had been Cassie who suggested the lakehouse, as it was a much better place for her family to throw a party. Johnny and Sonya agreed to the request.

Following Cassie accepting and later becoming an officer in the Army, Cassie had to submit her dissertation to Jax and Sonya in regards to her career as a mercenary, as well as her masterminding the Black Dragon's fall. After that, said newly-minted lieutenant and her mother had been reonciling, mending bridges once broken, talking for hours on end. Johnny had let the both of them work things out. After beating the holy hell out of one another, talking was the next best thing. But he did call Rebecca to look in on them.

Rebecca Carlton-Williams, Johnny's sister and a psychiatrist, had given Cassie the third-degree about her running off the way she did. Sonya and Johnny found it amusing that their grown daughter was being tongue-lashed by her sister-in-law, who was 12 years older than Cassie. After Rebecca, it had been Vera's turn to chew Cassie out.

Aside from mending fences with her mother, Cassie had sent two photographs to the former Secretary Perry and his son, both incarcerated. The pictures were that of the Cage family, Cassie in an officer's uniform, her new rank evident in the photo. Johnny, Sonya and Cassie were in the picture giving the middle finger.

Scrawled on the back of the photos was a message in Cassie's handwriting. 'The Cage Family send their regards.'

Father, Mother, and Daughter had later heard that Perry had been screaming bloody murder, cursing their names from his cell. His son, however, was not so lucky. He tried to escape from prison with the intention of exacting revenge on Cassie, and was shot dead. Thus, another chapter in the Cage Family was brought to a close.

The party was on the lakehouse's patio. Aside from the Cage family, Johnny's sister and husband had made the trip. The Briggs family were also present - Jax, his wife Vera, and Jacqui. Cassie had excused herself from the party to stand at the patio's rail, staring at the lake.

The newly-minted lieutenant was dressed in the same outfit she had wore when she had arrived at El Toro days earlier. Only this time, she had taken a pair of hair clippers to her hair. She was now sporting an impressive undercut, and had styled it into a widow's peak (i.e., her hairdo when in her Endurance outfit).

"Nice haircut, Cassandra."

Cassie turned to her right. Nightwolf was standing beside her. The Lakota shaman had been in town, Cassie discovered, lecturing at a university when Cassie had invited him to her party. Nightwolf had accepted. Aside the fact that his hair was now grayer than her father's the warrior and historian was still Raiden's right-hand man.

"Thanks," Cassie replied. "You here to read me the third degree?"

Nightwolf grinned. "I believe your aunts had that covered. Something is on your mind."

"Only two people can read me that well. You and Dad. Dad told me what had happened when I was unconscious. About how Raiden healed me.

"You want to know why he did it, and did he do it because he wanted to get back in your mother's good graces," Nightwolf guessed. "I asked Haokah the same question. He said that it was the right thing to do. We all are seeking redemption, one way or another. Your mother...Haokah...Mileena...even you."

"Kitana said the same thing to me, that no one is beyond redemption. Her forgiving Mileena has proven that. I guess it was that alone which convinced me to give Sonya a second chance. She screwed up plenty, not that I was any better."

Nightwolf nodded. While Liu hated Raiden, the former champion was on relatively good terms with Nightwolf, as was Kitana.

"Goes to show that you are still learning from your mistakes," Nightwolf said. "Haokah sees something special in you, as do I. You're not the only one trying to build bridges once burned. Haokah feels remorse and guilt over succumbing to the Blood Code, over how Havik had manipulated him into using the Kamidogu."

"That I can relate," the younger Cage replied. "Fortunately, Liu and Kitana helped me put those demons to rest."

"He's been looking after you, you know, as an act of penance," the shaman continued. Off Cassie's surprised look, Nightwolf continued. "He even made sure that Quan Chi could not claim the souls of Kano and his allies following their deaths. Their souls he had personally obliterated."

"One less problem to worry about. Can you do me a favor?" Cassie asked.

"Sure."

"When you see Raiden again...tell him I said thanks."

"No need," Nightwolf replied, smiling. "Haokah knows of your gratitude. Your mother's as well."

"Cassie."

Cassie and Nightwolf turned around. Sonya stood there, holding Cassie's kit bag in her hands. Behind the three women, Jax was placing an old steel drum onto the patio. Johnny proceeded to upend the bag of charcoal that was left over from the barbecue into the drum.

"It's time," Sonya said.

Cassie gave her mother a nod and took the kit bag from her. Meanwhile, after dousing the charcoal with lighter fluid, Jax was trying to light a napkin on fire so he could toss it in. Vera, on the other hand, saved him the trouble by plucking the lit cigar from his lips, and much to Jax's chargin, tossed the cigar into the drum.

It had the desired effect of setting the charcoal ablaze.

"You need to quit, anyway," Vera said.

Sonya handed Cassie the kit bag and the younger Cage followed her mother to the impromptu fire pit. The others have already gathered around the burning drum; Jacqui stood with her parents, while Cassie's own flanked her. Rebecca and her husband stood on one end of the drum while Nightwolf was on the other.

Cassie regarded her kit bag. Inside were the items she used as Catherine Montilyet. But now, that life was officially over. It had been Rebecca who suggested that in order for Cassie to move forward, Cassandra Montilyet had to go. She opened it and pulled out the crimson wig. It had been her favorite wig, and one of the first things she had bought. Without a word, she tossed it into the burning bin, with the brunette and blonde wigs following suit.

She pulled out the oversized eyeglasses, and regarded them for a brief moment. "These shades cost less than the wigs," Cassie mused before tossing the item into the burning drum. Her contacts were the next thing she tossed away. Cassie then pulled out her smartphone, now deactivated, the SIM Card destroyed, and the photos now saved onto her laptop. That too went into the burning drum.

The next couple of items Cassie had retrieved were several passports under various aliases. The first passport she pulled out was German in origin. She flipped it open. "Katrina Mueller. Always hated that one." She tossed that into the inferno, and opened the next one, which was Canadian. "Rebecca Carlton. Forgot about that one," she said, smiling sheepishly at her aunt while said aunt gave Cassie the stink eye for using her name. Cassie tossed that passport into the drum.

The next passport was American. Cassie opened it, then closed it and handed it off to Sonya. "Keep that one, Mom. It's my real passport."

Sonya nodded and pocketed the item. The rest of the passports she had tossed into the fire. Cassie looked inside the bag. There were several bundles of money. Euros, dollars, even yen.

Cassie pulled out two bundles of dollar bills. One she tossed to Rebecca. "For using your name," she said before tossing the other to Nightwolf. "For room and board. Fifteen hundred each." The rest, she handed to her father. "See if you can get it converted, and donate it to a charity. I got enough cash."

"Gotcha, Princess," Johnny said.

Cassie thought about throwing the kit bag into the fire, but she relented. She actually liked the bag, and decided to keep it. She looked at the fire, watching as her life as Catherine Montilyet burn away.

"It's funny. I thought being a freelance contractor was the best thing in the world," Cassie began. "Instead, I was running from my past. From those who I call family. Dad made his career by being different characters, good and bad. Sometimes, it easier to be something that you're not, to become the mask. It's much harder to take the mask off...even when you have to face your past."

Sonya interlaced her fingers with her daughters and gave it a squeeze, while Johnny had his arm around Cassie's shoulders. "It's easier now, isn't it?" Sonya asked.

"It is, Mom," Cassie replied. "Because everything is all right now, for better or worse. I know that I'm not alone. Not anymore."

"You never were alone," Johnny said. "You always had us."

Nothing else was said as the fire slowly began to die out, leaving nothing but charred remains inside the drum.

Catherine Montyilet was officially put to rest.

For now, Cassandra Carlton Cage just lived in the moment. She had friends and family that she can depend on. She was no longer a lone wolf, for even a lone wolf needs a pack to run with. The chapter of her life as a freelance contractor was officially closed. Now, a new chapter was being written for Lieutenant Cassandra Cage.

Cassie didn't know what the future held in store for her, but she would not have to face it alone.

Not anymore.

END.


End file.
